


Jurassic Park

by xavier87



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Jurassic Parc, Clexa, Dinosaurs, F/F, Minor Violence, Paleontologist!Lexa, Smut, Some people will be eaten, vet!clarke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:14:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 40,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26173300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xavier87/pseuds/xavier87
Summary: Lexa Woods, an eminent paleontologist and a professor at Polis University, was invited by Marcus Kane, an eccentric billionaire, to visit and possibly endorse his “theme park” after she gained some popularity on the Internet through a TED talk.A few days later, the 32-year-old brunette finds herself on a remote island with not-extinct-anymore dinosaurs, a beautiful blonde vet, and 2 kids. What could go wrong indeed?
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 292
Kudos: 456





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> I recently rewatched all the Jurassic Park movies and figured that it could be an interesting universe for Clexa and Co. The first few chapters will stay close to the plot of the first movie, before the story takes a life of its own. 
> 
> I will try to take into account the recent discoveries on dinosaurs, such as the feathers and all, so the descriptions might sound a little different from what you saw in the movies.
> 
> For your safety, please keep your hands, arms, and legs inside the vehicles at all times. Enjoy the ride 😁

The temperatures were still on the chilly side when Lexa exited her trailer, on a beautiful Wednesday morning of spring 2019. Admiring the clear sky and sun peeking over the horizon, the 32-year-old woman wished, not for the first time, that she had a better camera than her iPhone 8. This was her favorite part of the day, when nature was awake and undisturbed by the sounds that inevitably accompanied human activities. Taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, she made her way to the tent she and her team used as a canteen in search of coffee. She was welcomed by Patricia and Greg, two of her most promising grad students whom she had recruited to help her during spring break.

Lexa, known as Professor Woods on campus, was not only an eminent paleontologist, she was a well-sought-after teacher at Polis University. She had already published a book even before graduating, and her own university had hired her as soon as she had finished her Ph.D. About a month before coming to Montana, she had given a TED Talk on recent findings in her field that was shared and viewed far more than anyone could have expected, making her the talk of the faculty. To her utmost annoyance, a _Profdinhotsaurus_ hashtag circulated on Twitter for a couple of weeks, and she threatened to fail any student she caught resharing it. So, to say that Lexa had been excited to leave the university for 12 days and visit the digging site in the badlands of Montana would be an understatement.

She and her four students had arrived two days before, and they had started to work on the remains of a _stegosaurus_ in relatively good shape. Lexa adored teaching, sharing her passion for dinosaurs and her knowledge filled her with a sense of purpose and responsibility. But this, lying on the ground with a toothbrush to unearth treasures that no one else had ever seen, was her true calling.

After a most welcome coffee and a muffin, Lexa and her students leisurely walked down to the actual digging site, identified by cones and warning tapes, in case a drunk researcher would try to take a stroll at night. The brunette pushed back her leather hat so it wouldn’t come in contact with the ground, and lay on her stomach, rapidly imitated by her proteges. Small brushes and toothbrushes in hands, they continued to clear the ancient remains. So far, they had discovered three plates of different sizes and seven bones belonging to the vertebrae, which seemed to point to a _S. ungulatus_. Lexa hoped that they could find enough bones to confirm or disprove Peter Galton’s hypothesis that the arrangement of the plates varied according to species.

The professor and the paleontologists in the making had been working for a couple of hours when the growing sound of an engine made them raise their heads from the dust. A helicopter was coming their way, fast, looking like it was planning to land near their trailers. Lexa, sensing the danger, immediately shouted, “Cover the bones,” to her students who ran to get some tarp before the wind created by the rotor started to disturb the remains. Grumbling to herself, she helped secure the covers before making her way to the helicopter, signaling the pilot in energetic gestures that he had to turn off his engine. When the hubbub finally stopped, she saw the lateral door open and a man in a fancy suit come out. He seemed to be in his mid-50s, with neck-length salt and pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard, dark brown eyes sizing the paleontologist before smiling at her with all his white teeth.

“Ms. Woods, it’s a pleasure. Marcus Kane. How do you do?”

Surprised by the unexpected visitor, Lexa stood immobile for a couple of seconds before shaking the manicured hand. Marcus Kane had the reputation to be the next Elon Musk, and even someone like her who had zero interest in gossip magazines and articles reshared on Facebook had heard of the eccentric billionaire. His companies employed hundreds of thousands of people, and were involved in cutting-edge research, such as cloning, HIV vaccine, and a possible cure for Alzheimer's. Despite his extravagance in interviews, the man was also known to be a philanthropist, and regularly donated millions to various NGOs.

“Mr. Kane,” she finally replied. “What brings you to Montana?”

“Well, you, my dear. Is there a place we can talk, privately?”

Lexa raised an eyebrow in surprise at him, but nodded nonetheless. She had never hidden her sexual preferences, another thing that her new admirers had commented at length on the Internet, so she was pretty sure that the man walking by her side knew that all his money would get him nowhere closer to her bed — a presently rather uncomfortable single bed, probably the one thing she didn’t like so much about this part of her job. 

Once they reached her trailer, she pulled the door open and pointed towards the small wooden table. Not at all disconcerted by the modest interior, the billionaire sat on one of the benches, gesturing for Lexa to take the other one. Trying not to let her annoyance show at the way the man was ordering her in her own home, she took a seat across from him, her back stiff.

“My dear Lexa, I can call you Lexa, right? I have a proposal for you,” the man continued without stopping long enough for her to reply that she would prefer being addressed as Dr. or Prof. Woods. “I am planning to open a biological preserve that would double up as a theme park soon, and I would like you to come to visit it first. I do not doubt that you will agree to endorse it once you see what my team there has achieved.”

“What sort of park?” Lexa inquired, wondering why on earth the man would want her, of all people, to promote a theme park. She had been to Disney World once in her life, and that had been more than enough. She had no love for roller coasters or crowds, especially the ones that consisted mainly of children.

“Well, I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” he grinned, “but trust me, it’s right up your alley.”

In other words, it had something to do with dinosaurs. She could only imagine what the man had in mind. Probably some rides in a décor meant to look like the forests of the Cretaceous period, and certainly widely inaccurate at that. If she were a betting woman, she would even say that at least one attraction would have people running away from fake dinosaurs looking nothing like what the recent discoveries suggested.

Sighing discreetly, she replied, “I’m sorry Mr. Kane, but I’m afraid you wasted your time. As I’m sure that you know, I am a busy woman. Between my university classes and this excavation site, I simply don’t have the time to visit a theme park. If you wish, I can recommend you some of my colleagues who might—”

“No, no, no,” the man interrupted, shaking his head, “you’re the one that I want. Not one of those fossils who will put my audience to sleep in record time.”

The brunette had some difficulties hiding her scoff at the dig. It was true that most paleontologists were men twice her age, but comparing them to fossils was uncalled-for, especially considering the very nature of their studies. 

“I have an island, off the coast of Costa Rica. I would like you to spend the weekend there. You will be away for two days, three max. I can charter a private jet to bring you to Puntarenas, and from there, it will take you less than an hour by helicopter. You could arrive Friday, spend two nights there, and be back here Sunday evening.”

Sensing that the woman’s resolve was starting to waver, if only so she could get rid of him, the man played his trump card. “If you agree to visit the island, whether or not you will endorse it, I am ready to finance your excavations for the next five years. But then, I have no doubt you will want to be a part of it once you see what we have achieved,” he added with a smirk.

Cursing her lack of a poker face, Lexa tried to discreetly pick her jaw up the floor. Polis U had been financing her excavations so far, and they used to be somewhat generous, but ever since the arrival of the new dean, Thelonious Jaha, the fund allocation had been revised in favor of the varsity teams, and her department was struggling. Despite Lexa’s recent fame, according to the dean, paleontology and dinosaurs didn’t seem to attract as much interest as before, and were, therefore, less profitable. The brunette and her colleagues had argued to no avail, that a university was a place of learning, not a business. Marcus Kane’s proposal meant that she would be able to continue her fieldwork without depending on Jaha’s whims, which sounded almost too good to be true. Lexa was usually not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to all this than her reputation as an excellent paleontologist.

“That’s a very generous offer, Mr. Kane,” she began, cautious, “and as you probably know, a most welcome one. I’m still wondering, however, why you chose me.”

“Very well, Lexa. You have a reputation for being straightforward, so I will be frank. When people think paleontology, they picture a 60-something white man boring them to death with long complicated names and images of bones. But you, you’re like the unicorn of your profession; a young, attractive, passionate woman. Like everyone else, I watched your talk, I saw how people responded to the video, and I’m telling you that you are exactly what I need to promote my park.”

Seeing the professor's frown at the mention of her video and physique, he continued, “I can see how that might sound, but I assure you that we wouldn’t be having this conversation if you weren’t also at the top of your field. I am a businessman, Ms. Woods, not a fool. I’m hiring the teacher here, the person who can share her passion with her students and convince them to follow her to this forsaken place to live in trailers for 10 days with no running water, not just a pretty girl.”

“What would my participation entail exactly?”

“As I said, I would like you to spend the weekend on the island. Meet our scientists, hear them out and see what we did. Then, take part in a demo tour of the park. If, as I suspect you will be, you are blown away by our results, I would like you to film some videos promoting the park, as well as more educational content from the children and adults who will visit it. The videos will teach them about the different dinosaurs, when they lived, what they ate, etc. How does that sound?”

Lexa took a minute to think about it all, biting her lips at regular intervals. The proposal was a godsend, allowing her to continue doing what she loved most without external interference. She wasn’t looking forward to the ads — and the teasing her sister Anya was going to put her through once she heard about it — but the educational videos sounded like another chance for her to share her passion with a larger audience. After taking a long inhalation, she stared at the man, and shook his hand.

“All right, Mr. Kane, one weekend.”

Stegosaurus, Frankurt Museum


	2. Day 1 - morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPl__iyIg6w
> 
> The playlist for the whole story :)

Two days later, Lexa was heading towards Isla Nublar, 120 miles west of Costa Rica, with her favorite hat and clothes for three days in her worn-out khaki backpack, her students left in the badlands under her assistant’s watchful eyes. As promised, Marcus Kane had flown her from Montana to Puntarenas, where a helicopter had been waiting for her. She was scheduled to land on the island just before noon, and if she was being honest, her curiosity was increasing by the minute. She had tried to google Marcus Kane's recent activities, but there was no mention of a preserve or a theme park anywhere, a strong indication of the high level of secrecy surrounding the whole project. Before being allowed on the plane, she had been asked to sign a lengthy DNA agreement, which left her to wonder what exactly the billionaire had concocted on his mysterious island.

When the helicopter landed near the small harbor, the brunette exhaled in relief. Though she was lucky enough not to suffer from motion sickness, the bumpy ride had made her a little green around the gills, and she happily jumped out of the devil’s contraption, not looking forward to the return journey. Observing her surroundings, she noticed several buildings a few hundred meters away, including what looked like a brand new 30-story hotel. The jetty was relatively deserted, as were the streets leading away from the pier, leaving her to imagine how it would like with a crowd of tourists disembarking from ferries.

Lexa had been daydreaming for a minute when she noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye. A jeep stopped near the steps where she was still standing, and a pretty blonde jumped out, walking resolutely towards her. Once the woman was close enough, the brunette realized that she wasn’t simply pretty, she was absolutely gorgeous. Her shoulder-length golden hair had streaks of pink at the ends, and her eyes, shining with the sunlight, were a deep blue that reminded Lexa of the twilight sky. The stranger was wearing khaki shorts and a tank top revealing just enough cleavage to catch Lexa’s attention. Completely enthralled, she didn’t hear the woman’s question, and noticed the blonde smirk at her, amused, before she repeated herself.

“Professor Woods, right?”

“Hmm, yes, me. I mean,” Lexa stuttered, abashed at being caught staring like a prepubescent boy, “that’s me, Lexa Woods. Nice to meet you...”

“Clarke. Clarke Griffin.”

“Clarke.” An interesting name for a remarkable apparition. _Calm down, Lexa_.

The woman’s smile grew into a full grin, and she pointed at the jeep.

“Please, Professor, follow me. Lincoln and I,” she continued, indicating the tall burly man with a shaved head at the wheel, “are here to pick you up and drive you to the lab, where you will learn more about this place. But first, maybe you’d like to drop off your bag and refresh?”

“Actually, yes, that’d be great, thank you. And please, call me Lexa. ‘Professor’ makes me feel like I’m back at the university already.”

“Sure, if you call me Clarke,” the blonde easily replied, before turning to the driver. “Could you drive us along the fence Lincoln? I think Lexa will enjoy the view.”

The man nodded with a conspiratorial smile before turning on the engine, and the three of them were off. Lexa was sitting at the back, looking left and right to admire the new buildings, mostly shops, with a fresh coat of paint. She saw the blonde discreetly look at her a few times through the rear-view mirror, and hid her simper; maybe she wasn’t the only one feeling some attraction after all.

Trying to get over the tension and to know the other woman better, Lexa asked, “So, what do you do here, Clarke?”

“I’m a vet.” The brunette titled her head in confusion at the unexpected answer. Not that the blonde didn’t look smart enough for the job, her eyes clearly glinted with intelligence, but she failed to understand why a vet would be necessary on the island. They didn’t expect the future visitors to come with their pets, did they?

After a couple of minutes, the vehicle reached a large fence, about 40 feet high, that left Lexa to wonder what they were trying to keep away from the tourist area. They began riding along it when she suddenly spotted something that made her eyes bulge and her jaw drop. A few hundred meters away, in the plains, a brachiosaurus head was visible through the foliage, as the beast was tearing at some branches. The brunette, unable to speak, tapped on Lincoln’s before jumping down the jeep, not even waiting for it to come to a full stop. Approaching the fence, she took the scenery in, her mouth still wide.

On the other side of the separation, on the grasslands that extended as far as she could see, dinosaurs — actual, real, moving dinosaurs — were roaming around. The paleontologist wished she had binoculars to see them more clearly, but she identified two brachiosauruses, their small heads peaking at what looked like 25 feet above the ground, a family of triceratops, and even what looked like an ankylosaurus, although she couldn’t be sure without getting closer. She had been prepared for some animatronics, and even 3D movies to scare the children and amaze the parents, but never in her wildest dream had she expected living, breathing creatures.

The brunette stood there for several minutes, unable to speak, not even noticing the tears that had rolled down her cheeks. She would probably have stayed rooted for hours if the blonde hadn’t appeared next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently, before letting go, as if to say, “You’re OK, it’s real, it’s not just in your head.” The action brought Lexa back into reality, and she angled herself towards Clarke, who was looking at her, an understanding smile on her face. It took the brunette another minute or so before she could articulate anything.

“They move in herds... They do move in herds,” she whispered, in awe of the animals that she had dedicated her life to.

“Yeah, they do,” the blonde answered, keeping her voice down too, as if she wanted that moment to last for as long as possible, preserving the bubble that surrounded them.

Lexa had never been a touchy-feely person; her parents had been loving but not particularly effusive, and she couldn’t remember the last time she and Anya had hugged. That day, however, looking at the miracle in front of her, she wished she could hold the blonde’s hand and keep it for as long as she would allow, needing something to anchor herself. Fortunately for her, Clarke seemed to have understood the turmoil inside her, because she raised her hand to her arm again, applying a light pressure without fully grabbing.

“How did you do it?” the brunette stammered, not having recovered from the shock yet. “How did you recreate dinosaurs?”

“Come on,” the blonde replied gently, “let’s get to your room first, and then I’ll show you the lab. All of your questions will be answered there.”

Lexa nodded and yet didn’t move, gazing at the herbivores peacefully walking around, and the vet had no choice but to grab her arm more forcefully and drag her to the jeep under Lincoln’s watchful eye and small smile.

Once they arrived at the hotel, Clarke explained to the still shell-shocked paleontologist that the researchers and senior staff members were staying on the first floors of the building for the time being, since there were no tourists yet. She showed Lexa to her room, with the promise to pick her up 30 minutes later, before indicating that she was only a few doors down if the brunette needed anything.

Lexa spent a good 10 minutes sitting on the bed, daydreaming. Since childhood, the woman had been fascinated by dinosaurs. The idea that those strong, powerful creatures once ruled the Earth, before their sudden disappearance, filled her with wonder. She adored digging around for bones, piecing them together, trying to make hypotheses on how that particular specimen had died, or on what it had looked like. Being able to see those creatures in the flesh was disconcerting, to say the least. Though she did not doubt that there would be some differences between these animals created in a lab and the ones that had existed until 65 million years before, without any human intervention, she wondered how this park would affect her job. Would people want to spend years looking around for a few bones when they could simply come and observe the creatures? Would her students still be interested in paleontology once the subject of their studies made the news?

Shaking her head, the brunette stood up and went to the bathroom to wash her face. There was no point in getting all worked up before she even had all the information. She was being given an opportunity no one in her profession ever had: observing dinosaurs in their — sort of — natural environment, see how they interacted, communicated, grew up. She couldn’t let her anxiety ruin the experience of a lifetime.

After refreshing herself, she opted for a change of T-shirt, and rebraided her hair. Satisfied with her appearance, she sat on the bed once more to wait for the blonde to pick her up and lead her to the lab. Lexa wondered how the vet had gotten the job on the island. She sounded American, and looked young, 30 years old top, how had she been hired for a position that must have been extremely coveted? Realizing where her thoughts had taken her, the brunette scoffed at herself. Leave it to her to be interested in a cute blonde when she was on an island with _dinosaurs_. If her sister were here, she would tease that her gay was showing.

Lexa considered sending Anya a text to let her know where she was and for how long, but a knock interrupted her, and she pocketed her phone before opening the door, Clarke grinning at her on the other side.

“So, Lexa, are you ready for the weekend of a lifetime?”


	3. Day 1 - afternoon

In the elevator, Clarke had some difficulties containing her excitement. Her job being what it now was, she had been following recent news and discoveries in the paleontological world, and naturally, she had watched Lexa’s TED talk the month before. Once or twice. Or maybe five times. Because after the first few viewings, she couldn’t remember anything about the actual lecture, but she swore she could have drawn the stunning woman delivering it from memory. She wished she had her painting materials with her so she could put it all on a canvas; the lean body in flattering, professional clothes, the wavy chestnut hair draped over her shoulders, the high cheekbones and defined jawline, strong and yet feminine, the plump lips designed for kisses, and her eyes. Those beautiful viridian eyes, with just enough eyeliner to make them pop and look like the woman had made an effort without being vain. Clarke had a crush. A big, embarrassing, completely understandable crush which her best friend Octavia had happily teased her about during their weekly phone calls since. Even her mother seemed to have heard about it, if the smirk she had worn when telling Clarke that Marcus had gone to Montana to hire the paleontologist — that may or may not have starred in a few naughty dreams without knowing it — was any indication.

And now Clarke was sharing the elevator with the woman, and trying really, really hard not to make a fool of herself. Thankfully, the brunette was so flabbergasted by the sight of the herbivores that she hadn’t seemed to notice the blonde staring at her too much. And in Clarke’s defense, she caught Lexa looking at her too. The tank top had been a good idea after all, though she had since changed in favor of a more conservative outfit for their visit to the lab. Her coworkers didn’t need to know about her infatuation and efforts to catch the brunette’s attention.

Thanks to Lincoln’s driving skills, they made it to the lab in less than five minutes. The highly secure building was located next to the command center, both slightly away from the shopping and tourist area. At first, Marcus Kane had wanted the visitors to be able to see the lab and learn how his team had managed to bring dinosaurs back to life. But the security risks and threats of corporate espionage were too high, and he eventually had given up that idea in favor of an educational video in the jeeps summarizing the process.

Gesturing for Lexa to follow her, the blonde headed towards the main lab, where she knew the paleontologist would get her answers. Once they passed the multiple doors and checks, the two women entered a large, bright room occupied by several scientists. Clarke made a beeline for the head geneticist, Professor Abigail Griffin, and introduced her to Lexa. At the brunette’s eyebrow raised in question, the vet chuckled and explained.

“Her coworkers call her Dr. Griffin, but I refer to her as Mom. That’s how I got the job,” she added with a wink.

“Ah, nepotism, I see,” Lexa playfully replied with a smile.

Dr. Griffin interrupted their banter, surprised to see the two women get along so well already. “My daughter is being modest. This opportunity was too good to refuse, but she wouldn’t have been given the chance if she wasn’t excellent in her field. Anyway, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Prof. Woods.”

“We've all been following your research and publications with great interest,” she added with a smirk, causing Clarke to blush and curse her mother’s total lack of subtlety. Since the vet had turned 30 a few months before, the woman had made it her mission to remind her that she would like to have grandchildren while she was still young enough to “be cool.” Never mind the fact that Clarke had been single for a while, and that the only eligible bachelors on the island, as far as she knew, were Pat in accounting who was straight, and Peter, one of the janitors who suffered from a severely pronounced overbite. Luckily for the blonde, Lexa seemed to have missed the red on her cheeks, too busy as she was taking it all in.

For the next 30 minutes, Abby explained to the paleontologist how Marcus Kane had bought a piece of amber from a mine called Mano de Dios in the Dominican Republic a few years before, amber that had contained a mosquito extremely well preserved. He had then hired his former classmate and now renowned geneticist, Doctor Griffin, to work on the samples. Fast-forward a couple of years, Abby and her team managed to grow their first dinosaur, a pachycephalosaurus, using frog DNA to fill in the genome missing sequences before injecting it into the unfertilized egg of an ostrich.

Lexa listened with a look of deep concentration on her face, her small nose wrinkling from time to time in surprise, all in all completely serious and adorable, which made Clarke groan internally. How was she supposed to get over her crush when the brunette was not only breathtaking and brilliant, but also friendly and overly cute? Forcing herself to focus, she answered Lexa’s next question before her mother could.

“How do you control the population levels?”

“All the dinosaurs on the island are female, we designed them that way,” she explained. “They can’t reproduce in the wild.”

Lexa hummed skeptically in answer, not wanting to sound rude but clearly unconvinced. Thankfully, Abby didn’t seem to take offense to it, and instead offered to show her something else after getting a text on her phone. The three women crossed to a different part of the lab and found themselves in front of a bassinet covered in hay. In the soft net, under a heat lamp, lay seven eggs.

“These particular ones are emu eggs. We use them for the smaller species. You're in luck, Prof. Woods, I was just told that they might hatch any minute now.”

Despite her best efforts, the brunette was unable to hide the look of excitement on her face, which made Clarke chuckle. She assumed that the paleontologist wanted to remain professional and composed, but the perspective of _seeing_ a dinosaur being born was too much for her to keep the façade. In her defense, the first time the vet had witnessed a similar scene, she had broken into sobs.

The following few minutes, nothing happened. And then, all of the sudden, one of the eggs started moving. It was barely noticeable at first, but in the religious silence that surrounded them, they heard it. A crack. A small portion of the shell broke apart from the rest, pushed from the inside by the tiny head now protruding from the hole. Minuscule claws wrapped themselves around the opening, trying to push more of it out of the way. Abby smiled at Lexa’s hanging mouth, and moved to help the small dinosaur out of its egg. Once she had cleared the remaining parts, she grabbed it gently and brought it closer to the paleontologist, who looked about to pass out.

“What—what species is it?” Lexa stuttered, caressing the head of the animal with her index. It looked and felt like a lizard, although fluff was already visible on its head and body.

“A velociraptor,” the geneticist answered, pointing at the characteristic sickle-shaped claw on its hind feet.

“You made carnivores?” the brunette shouted, clearly taken by surprise. It was one thing to have herbivores peacefully pacing on the plain, but the idea that velociraptors, and possibly other dinosaurs as dangerous if not more, would mix with humans made her shudder.

“Yes,” Abby replied, unfazed by the outburst. “We have 15 species at the moment. 9 herbivores and 6 carnivores. But don’t be alarmed, the carnivores don’t roam freely like the others. They're kept in highly secure paddocks, behind a second fence similar to the one you might have seen on your way here.”

Lexa nodded and kept her mouth shut. The whole situation was surrealist, and she wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Part of her, the little girl who had loved dinosaurs more than any other animal in the world, was elated to be able to see and touch those magnificent creatures. But the other part, the adult who had spent her life studying them, was both worried and low-key outraged to hear that scientists thought themselves powerful enough to control such living beings, and put them in cages on top of it. Breathing in and out slowly, she convinced herself to wait at least until she had seen the conditions the carnivores were kept in before jumping to conclusions.

Clarke spent another hour showing her around the lab, where she was able to ask a few more questions about the whole process, before Lexa’s stomach started growling loudly. The paleontologist felt her ears grow red at the noisy display, but the blonde simply offered to lead her to the cafeteria with a wink. Once the two of them were situated, with appetizing food on their plates, the vet couldn’t contain her excitement anymore and stroke up a conversation.

“So, how do you feel about all this?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. It’s amazing, and absolutely incredible to be able to see dinosaurs in the flesh. But at the same time, I don’t know if I can get behind the idea of putting them on display for all to observe. I mean, I don’t like zoos, because animals shouldn't belong in a cage. Not to mention safety concerns.”

“Oh,” Clarke mumbled, visibly disappointed at the answer, before regaining some composure. “I guess I see your point. But you should wait until you visit the park, trust me. I love animals too; I wouldn’t work in a place that doesn’t treat them well. You saw the herbivores, they're free to roam as they please, the tourists won’t disturb them. And the carnivores, I know my mother mentioned paddocks, but they really have a lot of space, I swear. We can’t let them out like the others, or they would obviously kill each other, so we make sure they have the best living conditions possible. You should think of all this as a preserve, not a zoo.”

“If you say so,” Lexa conceded. “I’m looking forward to the tour tomorrow, to be honest. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine anything like this. I guess I’m also a little worried about what it all could mean for my profession. Will paleontology still exist now that dinosaurs are back? Who would have thought that the study of something that has been around for millions of years could suddenly become obsolete?”

“Don’t you mean extinct?” Clarke teased her with mirth in her eyes before grimacing. “Sorry, too soon?”

“No, no, it was a good one,” Lexa smiled, waving her concerns away. “Thank you, for keeping me company today, and showing me around. I had a great time, despite my grumpiness.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” the blonde replied with a smirk, making the professor blush slightly.

The rest of the dinner was a happy, quiet affair, and by the time Clarke accompanied the brunette back to her hotel room, the two women were feeling like they had known each other for years. The easy banter, bordering on flirtation, had come naturally, helping them to get comfortable with each other. When Lexa wished her goodnight and disappeared behind her door, Clarke sighed, knowing that she would be sad to see the intelligent dino-expert leave two days later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned previously, I'm going with realism/the latest discoveries rather than the movies, so raptors had feathers and were the size of a turkey and probably used their 3rd claw to anchor themselves to the back of their preys. It looks weird as hell though 😆


	4. Day 1 - evening

After closing the door of her hotel room, Lexa leaned against it, eyes closed, sighing deeply. Despite all the conflicting emotions of the day, the dinner with the beautiful vet had been one of the best she had ever had — and it wasn’t even a date. The woman was brilliant, as passionate as her, and funny too. Shaking her head, the brunette admonished herself. Clarke had a job that she clearly loved, and lived thousands of miles away from Polis. She shouldn’t — couldn’t — get too close, or she would get burned. It had taken her a long time to recover from her last heartbreak, putting herself out there was scary enough, she didn’t need to care for someone who lived in a different country.

Trying to get the blonde out of her head, Lexa went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a proper shower, finally washing away the combined smells of the plane, the helicopter, and the lab that clung to her skin. She had barely had time to exit the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, her hair still damp falling on her shoulders, when a knock on her door distracted her from her suitcase. She half-opened it, hiding most of her body behind the wooden separation, only to find Clarke looking at her sheepishly with two bottles of beer in hand.

“Hi, I—would you like some beer? I mean, it’s not that late, and I figured—”

The rest of her sentence remained stuck in her throat when she noticed Lexa’s state of clothing — or more accurately the lack of garments on tan skin — and the blue eyes immediately turned a few shades darker. The silence between them stretched for a few long seconds, until the brunette muttered a “fuck it” and grabbed the vet by the T-shirt, forgetting all her good resolutions and crashing their lips together.

Clarke, too surprised to react at first, didn’t respond to the kiss. Worried she had overstepped or misread the situation, Lexa released her and took a step back, an apology on the tip of her tongue, but the blonde finally moved forward and swallowed it with her mouth. After that, things got heated fast, both of them clearly on the same wavelength. The brunette quickly placed the beers on a cabinet nearby and pushed the other woman against the door. One hand lost itself in soft locks and the other disappeared under the tank top, making the vet squirm when she felt her breast been kneaded by strong callous hands. Lexa thought she had won this round when she managed to push a thigh between the blonde’s legs, all the way to her center, but Clarke moved her head back with a smirk, and pulled at the towel, leaving the brunette stark naked against her.

“Wow,” the blonde murmured, admiring the lean and muscular body in front of her. The paleontologist had always been a believer in the “Mens sana in corpore sano” adage, and she made sure to exercise regularly, even when her schedule was packed with lectures and research to conduct. If Clarke’s predatory look was any indication, her efforts were appreciated.

Before she could say “Argentinosaurus”, Lexa found herself spread on the bed, Clarke, somehow already in her underwear, lying on her. The brunette pushed herself back on her elbows, wanting to roll them over to be the top, but the blonde simply smirked before cupping her, earning a groan that turned into a whimper halfway through. Shuddering, Lexa let herself fall back on the bed, vanquished by the feeling of two inquisitive fingers running up and down her folds, and she opened her legs more. Thankfully, Clarke seemed to understand the urgency and didn’t tease much, entering her without hesitation with one finger, before adding one almost immediately when she felt how ready the brunette was. Much to Lexa’s embarrassment, it had been a _long time_ since she had had someone taking care of her, and she fell over the edge less than five minutes later with a half-cried “Clarke.” 

Not one to be defeated so easily, though, the paleontologist caught her breath quickly. At the feeling of Clarke grinding on her thigh, as worked up as Lexa had been based on the wet evidence she was leaving on her skin, the professor took pity on her and placed a hand below the soaked slit. The vet threw her head back in ecstasy when long fingers entered her, earning a chuckle from Lexa.

“Need something?”

“Lexa, just fuck me,” she growled back.

With a quick nod, the brunette reversed their position, and Clarke, too needy to care anymore about being on her back, let out a sigh when pouty lips encased a pink nipple. Lexa continued pumping in and out for a couple of minutes before the appeal became too much to ignore, and she lowered herself until her mouth faced the little bundle of nerves she had been rubbing with her thumb. She gently took it in her mouth, tongue rolling all over it, her fingers curled against the spongy wall, and Clarke cried her pleasure, spine arching, her body shaking with the after waves.

“Damn,” the raspy voice said after a few minutes, “I should have known you would be good at that too.”

Lexa chortled at the statement, her body lying mostly on her stomach so she could face the blonde supine next to her.

“You weren’t too bad yourself.”

“Hmm. I feel like I should be embarrassed for showing up at your door,” Clarke began, turning to stare at the bright viridian eyes, “but honestly, I’ve been back to the mainland only five times in the last two years. The rest of the time, I’ve been here, working like crazy, with my mom and her boyfriend, who happens to own this whole show. You can imagine the state of my sex life. I learned not to waste any chances.”

The brunette shook her head, a soft smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

“No need to apologize. If I recall correctly, I was the one who kissed you first.”

“Besides,” she added as an afterthought, “it’s not like my sex life is much better. My last girlfriend, Costia, broke up with me over a year ago because, and I quote, ‘I was more interested in playing in the dirt than being with her.’ And since then it’s been ... pretty calm.”

“Well,” Clarke let a light laugh escape, “it’s her loss. Because you’re quite amazing, in and out of bed. Not to mention a celebrity.”

The paleontologist rolled her eyes at the last sentence, covering for the slight blush the previous one had brought upon her cheeks and ears, glad for the semi-darkness surrounding them.

“I swear, it’s crazy. I wish I could go back in time and tell 7-year-old me that one day she would be trendy. Somehow, I don’t think she’d believe me.”

“You weren’t popular in school?”

“Not really, no,” Lexa shrugged, remembering her awkward middle school years. “For some reason, being able to say and spell _Ekrixinatosaurus_ wasn’t considered to be cool in grade 2.”

“Oh my God, you were that kid, weren’t you?” the blonde giggled, “The Hermione-type, with glasses too big for her and a know-it-all attitude?”

“Yup. I even had bushy hair. Thankfully, it got tamer once I learned how to braid it properly. The glasses stayed for a while, though. So, as you can imagine, people weren’t exactly queueing to be my friends.”

“I’m sure you were adorable; I would have been friends with you,” Clarke replied gently, caressing her arm. “Well, maybe not when you were in grade 2, because I was still in kindergarten, but after that. I could have used a friend too when I was a preteen saving every animal I encountered, from birds fallen out of their nests to lizards and such. My mother had to draw the line at road kills, or I would probably have tried to bring them home too. It took me years to get rid of the ‘Snow White’ nickname.”

Lexa chuckled at that image before asking with a frown, “Wait, how do you know my age? I don’t remember telling you.”

“Hm, I guess this is the part where I confess watching your TED Talk and googling you?” Clarke blushed at her own admittance, cursing her big mouth. She had hoped her fangirling activities would remain a secret from the brunette, but no such luck.

“Oh no, please tell me you didn’t reshare anything with that stupid hashtag,” the brunette groaned, burying her head in the pillow.

“No, I didn’t. But even you have to admit that you were hot, with those gray slacks and that tight white shirt. I’m sure you were a cute little know-it-all back then, but you definitely turned into a sexy nerd.”

“Sexy, uh?” Lexa asked, the smirk growing on her face. At Clarke’s playful eye roll, she captured the pink lips once more, before working the woman up all over again.

A couple of rounds later, the blonde found herself spent, a delicious soreness in her lower half. The brunette had fallen asleep, her back to Clarke, still completely naked, a beautiful futuristic tattoo on display. The vet was torn between her wish to stay, and the possible awkwardness that would happen in the morning. She had only known Lexa for a few hours, and though the last two had been absolutely amazing, the brunette hadn’t given her any indication that she would want this to be more than a one-night stand. Sure, she was scheduled to remain on the island for another night, and their conversation had been much more intimate than expected in such a context, but Clarke couldn’t assume she would want a repeat of their performance.

Not wanting to impose, the blonde started extricating herself from the bed when a sleepy “Stay” emanated from the unmoving brunette. With a tender smile on her face, Clarke lay down again, closer to the middle than she had been. And when Lexa moved to press her naked back against the vet’s front, Clarke kissed her neck softly before wrapping an arm against the slim waist, and murmured, “Goodnight Lexa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mens sana in corpore sano (by Juvenal) = A healthy mind in a healthy body


	5. Day 2 - morning

The following morning, things were a little uncomfortable between the two women who had woken up with Clarke’s head on Lexa’s shoulder, but not as bad as they could have been. The blonde returned to her room to shower, and they amiably ate breakfast in the cafeteria with Abby and some other scientists. Clarke choked on her toast when her mother asked Lexa if she had slept well and the brunette replied with a smirk that she had, but not quite enough. Thankfully, Abby missed the blonde’s glare thrown at the snickering paleontologist. After all, the excitement of the previous day could easily be blamed for the professor’s lack of sleep. As for the small hickey on Clarke’s neck, well, good thing she had found an effective concealer during her last trip to San José.

Not long after they had finished breakfast, Marcus Kane joined the two young women in the command center. The billionaire had warned Lexa that he would arrive a day after her, having to take care of some business, and that he was looking forward to giving her a tour. True to his word, once he had jumped out of the helicopter, he enthusiastically showed the brunette the island map, the security room and recounted how the whole adventure had started. The visit lasted well into lunchtime, and Lexa didn’t hide her excitement when the middle-aged man ushered them to one of the restaurants, opened just for them. To her surprise, however, two young children joined them at the table, accompanied by Abby who lightly kissed the billionaire before taking her seat.

The little boy, around 8 years old, had sandy blond hair and bright light eyes. His skinny arms poked out of a dinosaur T-shirt that made Lexa smile, reminding her of herself at his age. When he saw the paleontologist, his mouth opened wide, and he ran to her side, screaming, “Professor Lexa! Did you see Uncle Marcus? It’s Professor Lexa!”

“I know, Aden,” the bearded man replied with a quiet laugh. “I invited her to visit the park.”

“Professor Lexa,” the boy asked her seriously, his green eyes, a shade paler than hers, looking at her like she had hung the moon and the stars, “How do you call a blind dinosaur?”

In truth, Lexa knew that joke, and many others related to her field of expertise. Some classmates had even bought her a mug with it printed on the side for her birthday. Still, not wanting to dishearten the blond, she pretended to frown, scratched her chin, and asked, “I don’t know Aden, how do you call a blind dinosaur?”

“A Do-you-think-he-saurus,” the boy replied with a grin so big, the whole table laughed heartily.

The paleontologist had never been particularly fond of children, and was glad that her sister was pretty much the same. She often found them loud, obnoxious, and they tended to get all dirty and smelly. Yet even she had to admit that the third grader’s enthusiasm was cute.

When the hilarity calmed down, Lexa noticed that the little girl sitting between Marcus and Abby still hadn’t said a word, or reacted to the joke. She was listening to the conversation, her head turning each time a different person spoke, but her baby blue eyes were dull and her mouth was forming a down-open curve more often than not. She seemed to be around 6 years old, with long wavy chocolate hair rather bushy, like it hadn’t been brushed in a while.

After lunch, Abby and Marcus took the children back to their room for a well-deserved nap, and Lexa found herself once again alone with Clarke. The vet explained that the siblings were Marcus’s niece and nephew, whose parents had recently died in a car accident. The billionaire, who didn’t have children himself, had become their legal guardian. The little boy, Aden, was coping as well as could be expected, his passion for dinosaurs a way-out of the sadness surrounding them. But his younger sister — Madi, Lexa learned — wasn’t faring as well. The brunette had barely said a word since the accident, and Marcus didn’t really know how to deal with her. Doctors and psychologists declared that she needed time and would eventually talk again when she was ready. He hoped that visiting the park would help lift her spirit, which was why he had brought his two proteges to the island.

Lexa surprised herself by revealing her own tragic story to the blonde, something she rarely did. She was actually glad that, despite being recently in the Internet spotlight, no one had mentioned the death of her parents when she was a preteen, and her and Anya’s adoption by her uncle Gustus. Clarke listened to her intently, rubbing the woman’s lower back when her voice quivered at the mention of the fire that had torn her family apart.

In turns, the blonde revealed that her parents weren’t divorced, as Lexa had simply assumed, but that Abby was a widow. Jake, Clarke’s father, had been an engineer and the girl’s best friend and biggest supporter. He was the one who encouraged her to follow her passion and become a vet, instead of a doctor as her mother hoped. When he had passed away from cancer not long after Clarke’s 17th birthday, her resolve was only strengthened. Ironically, her relationship with her mother had been tense for a few years, especially when Abby had become romantically involved with Marcus, but working together had brought the two Griffins closer. This time, Lexa was the one who hugged the blonde when a couple of tears rolled down the round face at the mention of Jake’s death.

The silence that followed that serious conversation was heavy, and yet comfortable. The two women were happy to simply sit next to each other, not quite touching but close enough that Clarke could hear the brunette breathe while she was drawing something on her notepad. After maybe 20 minutes, the blonde let her head rest on a slightly bony shoulder, and she smiled when a hand found its way around her waist, applying almost no pressure at all. The pair remained there until they heard Aden’s voice from the side. For better or for worse, the nap time was already over.

The little boy ran towards the two women, who discreetly separated, not wanting Abby and Marcus to catch on what was happening between — whatever that was. Lexa barely had time to brace herself that the 8-year-old had jumped, his hands circling her neck, earning a “Humpf” from the professor when his tiny body collided with hers. The blonde next to her laughed at Lexa’s clear confusion, and turned to see the small brunette who had followed her brother.

“Hi Madi,” she said gently, a smile on her face, “did you sleep well?”

The 6-year-old shrugged and stared at the vet, but she didn’t speak. She was a tough cookie, but Clarke had more than one trick up her sleeve. Making sure the little girl was still looking at her, she opened her notepad to the page she had been working on, and showed it to her. It was a charcoal drawing of the young brunette, from the waist up, so beautiful that Lexa’s jaw dropped in shock. Clarke had forgotten to mention that she dabbled as an artist, and though she had spent more time sketching dinosaurs than people recently, she was still pretty good. Madi was enthralled, and for the first time since she had met her, Clarke saw a smile find its way onto the little round face. Marcus muttered a “Thank you” that she acknowledged with a nod, but it was the awe on Lexa’s face, mirroring the one on Madi's, that secretly warmed her heart and was the true reward. The touching scene was eventually interrupted by Aden, who had grown tired of sitting on the paleontologist’s lap.

“Uncle Marcus, Uncle Marcus, can we go on the tour now?” And without waiting for the billionaire’s answer, he turned around to look at Lexa, “You’re coming with us, right Prof. Lexa?”

Unsure of her schedule, the professor tilted her head towards the businessman in question, and the man laughed at the excitement painted on the two faces in front of him.

“Well, I guess now is the perfect time for you to explore the island, Prof. Woods. I thought you might try out the tour our visitors will take part in when we open. The electrical jeep will pick you up in front of the hotel, lead you through the herbivore section, all the way to the area with the carnivores’ paddocks, and back. It should last about three hours in total. You will be free to look around and take pictures or notes, as the jeep follows the rail, there is no need to drive it.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he added after a short pause, “I promised my niece and nephew to let them join the tour too. Unfortunately, I have business to attend to at the command center and I can’t take them, so I figured they could accompany you, if you don’t mind?”

Lexa had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep her face neutral. The two children had been well-behaved so far, but the prospect of being alone with them, in a car, for a whole afternoon sounded less than appealing. She would rather deal with hungry dinosaurs — or so she thought — than humans below 18 any day of the week. She might not have done such a great job at hiding her reaction, because she felt Clarke chuckle next to her.

“Why don’t I accompany you too?” she asked, having mercy on the panicking professor. “I haven’t had the chance to try the tour yet, it sounds like fun.”

Full of gratitude, Lexa could have kissed her at that moment, and only the presence of the vet’s mother, her boss and mother’s boyfriend, and the two children in front of them stopped her from doing so.

“Perfect!” Marcus exclaimed. “Why don’t you go back to the hotel to get your camera or anything you might need, and the jeep will pick you up in 20 minutes?”

The professor and the vet nodded in agreement, and they went back to their respective rooms to prepare themselves for the adventure awaiting them, not knowing that it was the last time they would ever be in the hotel.

Map of the island

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my total lack of design/Paint skills and for the typos 😂😅  
> It was supposed to be for my eyes only, but I figured it might be useful so...


	6. Day 2 - afternoon - demo tour

When Lexa arrived at the hotel lobby, clad in khaki shorts, a white tank top, and a light jacket on top of it, she found Clarke and the children waiting for her excitedly. Even little Madi, though as quiet as before, had a new glint in her eyes that got brighter when the vet told her that she had brought her notepad and pencils and would draw whatever animal she wanted.

When the self-driving jeep stopped in front of the hotel, as promised, they rushed inside, not wanting to wait another minute. Without needing to discuss it, the adults had sat in such a way that they would be able to keep an eye on the kids; the blonde was at the front with the little girl, and Lexa was at the back with Aden. The boy was literally bouncing on his seat, asking the professor all about her favorite dinosaurs, the ones she had dug out herself, and her research all while spilling at least 1,000 words in less than a minute. Lexa felt a little overwhelmed by the experience, but she couldn’t contain the smile that was pulling at the corners of her mouth, delighted as she was to be in the presence of a fellow dino-enthusiast.

By the time they reached the fence, Aden had already told her three of his favorite jokes.

“What dinosaur could jump higher than a house? All of them. Houses can’t jump!”

“How can you tell there’s a stegosaurus in your fridge? The door won’t close!”

And the one that made him laugh so much he had a hard time finishing it, “What does a triceratops sit on? Its tricera-bottom!”

So, admittedly, his humor could use some work, but Lexa still giggled at his shit-eating grin, before remembering that she wasn’t the only adult around, and the tip of her ears turned bright red when she caught Clarke smirking at her with a raised eyebrow. _Busted_. If the professor had had any hope of hiding her dorky side from the vet, she had failed epically. Thankfully, the blonde didn’t comment or tease her, she just winked at the embarrassed brunette before saying something to Madi while pointing at the fence.

Caught up in Aden’s excitement, Lexa hadn’t noticed that they were already at the park entrance. The jeep slowed down when they approached a huge metallic door, painted like it was made of wood. On top of it, a “Welcome to Jurassic Park” sign greeted them, the black skeleton of a T-Rex standing out from the yellow background just above the bright white letters. Madi’s eyes bulged at the nearing door, afraid that they were going to crash against it, but it seamlessly opened when they found themselves a couple of meters away from it. To Lexa’s surprise, the jeep entered a small sort of garage she hadn’t noticed and came to a short stop. Only once the door behind them had closed, the one in front open, and they were free to continue their journey. Clarke explained that, though the herbivores tended to be wary of humans and stay clear of the fence, they couldn’t take the chance of having one escape and run around the shopping area.

They had barely made it inside the park that a small TV turned on automatically, and started to welcome them to Jurassic Park and give some information about the tour, the dinosaurs they would see and a short background on the research that had allowed this marvelous attraction to be. Lexa listened attentively but, if she was being honest, the speech was a little dry. She was beginning to understand what Marcus had meant when he had said he wanted her to shoot some videos with educational content. She was already imagining what she would say about each of the species listed, how she would structure the video... Her thoughts were interrupted when Aden shrieked, “There!”

The car had arrived on top of a hill, offering them a splendid view on the plain below and the river that snaked through the grass. For a few miles, there was nothing but green, the ocean far away on both sides, and dinosaurs. As Abby and Marcus had explained, the area closest to the shops and hotel was inhabited by eight species of herbivores, that were free to roam between the two fences that separated them from the humans in the south and the carnivores in the north. According to Clarke, there were currently over 40 herbivores, at least 5 of each species, on the island. Despite being all female, the animals had adopted a familial lifestyle, with the older ones taking care of the younger ones together.

As the jeep slowly brought them closer to the river in order not to frighten the gentle giants, Lexa spotted a family of triceratops, two stegosauruses, three saurolophuses drinking, and even an apatosaurus eating leaves from a tree, unconcerned by the vehicle and its excited occupants.

“All we need now is a pteranodon,” she thought out loud, smirking when Clarke snorted at the unintentional joke.

“Though they are not classified as dinosaurs, we do have some in the aviary,” the vet winked. “We’ll see them once we reach the carnivores area.”

Their private moment came to an end when Madi suddenly tapped on Clarke’s leg and let out a quiet, “Look!” with her eyes as big as saucers. Coming from the right side, a group of gallimimus was running at full speed towards the jeep. To the utter delight, the animals stayed their course and passed so close to the vehicles that Lexa swore she could have counted the feathers on their forelegs.

“Did you like that Madi?” she asked the younger brunette, laughing lightly when the girl nodded so hard, she seemed a little dazed right after. “These were gallimimuses; they are some of my favorite dinosaurs. We call them like that because they look like chickens. Do you agree?”

The girl considered the question far more seriously than Lexa would have expected a six-year-old to, before grinning and nodding emphatically. She might have still been mostly mute, there was no denying her clear intelligence.

The jeep moved them closer to the river and the animals they had seen at first, and while Lexa and Aden were discussing the different species of herbivores they could see, Clarke asked Madi which one she wanted the vet to draw. Again, the little girl pondered for a minute before looking at the blonde with pleading eyes and showing her four tiny fingers.

“Four?” Clarke asked, uncertain of what the brunette was trying to say. “Do you mean, these four species?”

That had been the right guess, as the girl whispered a “Yes” before hugging the vet for a second, leaving both her and Lexa with their mouths open. Trying not to make the girl too self-conscious, Clarke recovered quickly. “Tell you what, I don’t think I’ll have enough time to draw them all before the tour continues. How about I take a picture, so that I can draw all of the herbivores together later?”

“Could you make a copy for me?” Aden asked shyly, not wanting to miss a chance to add an original drawing to his dino collection.

“Of course, Aden,” the blonde replied without missing a beat, before looking at Lexa with a smirk. “How about you, Professor, would you like a copy as well?”

“I would love one, thank you, Ms. Griffin,” the paleontologist playfully answered, wondering how she could ask for the vet’s autograph, and possibly phone number as well.

As their journey continued, the four visitors were able to spot the species they hadn’t seen yet, the brachiosaurus and the ankylosaurus that had greeted Lexa during her first day, as well as a couple of pachycephalosauruses, easily identifiable by their thick skull roofs. Clarke explained that though the pteranodons were piscivorous, the aviary was kept on the carnivore side for safety reasons.

When they reached the second fence, even more imposing than the first, Lexa had a hard time hiding her excitement. On the other side of the 40-foot-high wall, she would finally be able to see a T-Rex in the flesh. The herbivores had been very impressive, of course, and she was looking forward to the other carnivores too, but there was something about the giant apex predator that had always fascinated her. She wondered how the bipedal carnivore was faring in a limited, controlled environment, and if the animal would even be close to what it would have been in the wild.

Once inside the northern part of the island, they started with a visit of the aviary, passing again through interlocking doors. That part of the visit turned out to be a little disappointing, as the flying reptiles remained far away from the vehicles and mostly out of sight. The most exciting part was when one of them managed to poop right onto the car’s hood, making the kids laugh out loud and the adults groan.

After the elusive pteranodons came the T-Rexes and the dilophosauruses. The tour was designed in such a way that the visitors were driven close enough to the paddocks that they could see the animals clearly and take pictures. Then, they could request to drive through the shops located between the dilophosauruses and the baryonyxes' spaces, without needing to exit the cars.

Lexa briefly spotted the slender predators on her right, admiring the gap below their nostrils and the two plate-shaped crests on their skull. They were as high as a man, and with their tails and necks, they could reach a length of about seven meters, which Clarke confirmed when she asked her. But the brunette’s attention quickly moved to the large space on their left, occupied by three tyrannosauruses.

The paleontologist’s breath hitched at the sight, and she squeezed her fists hard to distract herself from the tears that pooled at her eyes. The beasts were magnificent, there was no other word for it. Two of them were well above 3 m high, clearly adult specimens, while the third one seemed to be a teenager, about 2 m high at the hips based on her estimation. They showed sparse feathering above their scaly skin, and their lipped jaws displayed an impressive row of razor-sharp teeth. Their forelimbs were as short as Lexa had expected them to be, but she knew that despite their size, they were powerful, and their two clawed digits shouldn’t be ignored.

“Prof. Lexa,” she heard Aden call her, “why did the T-Rex go extinct?”

For once, she didn’t know that joke, and stopped looking at the dinosaurs for a second to encourage the little boy.

“He couldn’t embrace change.”

The paleontologist would deny it until her dying breath, but she let out a very undignified snort at the picture that popped up in her head, before trying to cover it with a cough. Based on Aden’s giggles, Madi’s grin, and Clarke’s shaking shoulders, she failed. Groaning, she dropped her forehead against the back of the front seat headrest, making the children laugh even harder, until the feeling of Clarke’s hand in her hair, patting her gently, and a whispered “there, there” made her smile again.

The jeep was still slowly moving forward, giving them plenty of time to admire the dinosaurs around them, when out of nowhere, the engine turned off, leaving them confused between the tyrannosauruses’ paddock and the shops. Clarke, a frown visible on her beautiful face, tried to turn the vehicle on again, but nothing worked. After a couple of attempts, she pressed the emergency button with a frustrated huff, waiting to hear from the command center and inform them that they had a breakdown, but she was met with only silence.


	7. Day 2 - afternoon - command center

Despite the AC cooling the control room, Carl Emerson, IT security officer at Jurassic Park, was sweating. The tall mean wiped the watery pearls rolling down from his short red hair to his neck, hoping that no one would notice his nervousness. Luckily for him, most of his coworkers in the room were busy monitoring the animals and the demonstration tour currently happening.

When the IT specialist had heard about the professor coming to the island to visit the park, he had decided to put the plan he had been devising for weeks into action. He would take advantage of the extra confusion and efforts made to fix the jeep to escape.

The 38-year-old lived a relatively simple life, he had a good job, a wife, and two kids. But money was tight, between the mortgage and his children’s extracurricular activities, so when a former classmate had contacted him about a business venture, Carl hadn’t been able to say no. Cage Wallace was an odd duck. Son of Dante Wallace, CEO of Mount Weather, a pretty large American arms manufacturer, the man showed antisocial tendencies and a lack of empathy from a young age. Most of their schoolmates hated him or gave him a wide berth, but for some strange reason, Cage took a liking to Carl, and vice versa. The fact that the young heir came from a rich family and invited the copper-haired man to enjoy his pool and luxurious parties had certainly helped. After their high school graduation, the two men had gone their separate way and lost touch, until a year before.

Carl had been working as an IT specialist for a middle-sized company in California when Cage Wallace contacted him out of the blue, and offered him a job. He would help Carl get an IT security job on a remote island owned by the same man as the company he was employed by, Marcus Kane, and once he was well-established there, he would steal something. At first, the tall man had refused to do Cage’s dirty work, but everybody had their price. When his former classmate offered him 10 million in exchange for the viable embryos of 15 species of dinosaurs, Carl agreed.

That was how the red-haired man had begun working at Jurassic Park 10 months before. As an IT security officer, he was in charge of supervising the network, making sure that all the fences and paddocks remained on at all times, and that no one could pirate the system from the outside. Unfortunately, Marcus couldn’t have known when he hired him to protect his best interests that he was welcoming a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Carl was letting his fingers fly on the computer keyboard, adding the last touches to his program, while keeping an eye on the jeep currently exploring the herbivore section of the island. He hadn’t expected two children to be part of the tour, and felt uncomfortable at the prospect of leaving them stranded, but it was too late to change the plan. Besides, with Marcus’s proteges stuck in the carnivore area, he was sure that everybody would be too busy trying to help them and fix the system to pay him any attention.

Finally ready, he set his stopwatch to 10 minutes, and launched the program. After waving at his coworkers and indicating that he was going out for a cigarette break, he exited the command center, not noticing the darkening sky above him, and made his way towards the lab.

10,9,8...

When the countdown hit zero, the camera outside the lab turned off, and the back-door lock opened. Not wasting a second, Carl discreetly entered the modern building, and strode towards the cold storage unit. Weeks of planning and studying the video footage and blueprints had taught him that this was where the embryos were kept. Once informed of this, Cage had managed to send him an inconspicuous shaving cream can with a hidden cooling compartment that would keep the precious cargo frozen long enough for him to bring them to Mount Weather. An alarm rang somewhere in the building and the security officer, now certain that there were no scientists around, entered the cold room. Opening one unit after another, he quickly collected the 15 small tubes containing the dinosaur specimens, and carefully inserted them into the cooling compartment slots. The whole operation took less than five minutes, and he was out before anyone could notice him, too busy as they all were with the random alarms and system crashes.

There came the second most difficult part of the plan, his escape. Even though he had time before his absence and theft was discovered, he couldn’t take the helicopter or the two large ships reserved for the staff without arising suspicion. Which left him with no other choice than to steal a smaller embarkation used by the personnel to go fishing. It wasn’t ideal with the bad weather that was suddenly upon them, as it wasn’t quite as sturdy or fast as the other means of transportation, but it would allow him to reach the mainland discreetly.

Looking left and right to make sure no one was around to see him, Carl untied the small rubber dinghy and jumped in, his bag with the embryos securely tied around his chest. In his haste, he cut his hand on a piece of metal, deep enough to bleed; he would probably need stitches once he reached the mainland. The man started the engine and exited the island harbor, the rain and cloudy weather covering his escape.

Unfortunately for him, the one thing he hadn’t taken into account was the tropical storm that had crept its way towards the islands. As the rain intensified, the wind picked up and the waves got higher and higher, threatening to throw him overboard. He tried to avoid the brunt of it, but after over two hours of battling with the storm, he wasn’t faring well. He had made it about halfway when a wall of water caught his boat on the side and, unable to plow through it, he was sent into the cold ocean headfirst.

When he emerged, spluttering and shivering, he groaned at the pain in his hand, the salty water eating at the wound and making it bleed again. Noticing his dinghy a few meters away, Carl began to swim towards it, rushing before the waves submerged him. He had almost caught up with it when, out of nowhere, rows of teeth clenched on his left leg. The sharp pain shot throughout his body, making him open his mouth to cry, but before a sound could come out, he was dragged under, water filling his throat and lungs.

*****

Back at the command center, Raven Reyes, head of maintenance, was running around trying to fix the various bugs and issues that kept popping up on the screens when Marcus Kane strode into the room, furious.

“What the hell is happening?” he shouted. “I was in the middle of a conference call when I got disconnected. The door stayed locked for 30 minutes. And now there are alarms everywhere, and I just heard that Madi and Aden are stuck, their jeep hasn’t moved in 45 minutes. What is wrong with the system?”

“I don’t know, Boss. It started with fire alarms here and there. We sent teams check the locations, but there were no fires. And then it continued with random alerts, doors being locked or unlocked. It’s like the whole system is going crazy.”

“Where is Emerson? Shouldn’t he be trying to fix it?”

“No idea,” the Latina replied with a frown. “He said that he was going out for a smoke almost an hour ago, no one has seen him since. Maybe he is walking around the area trying to find an external cause?”

“Have you checked his computer?” the bearded man asked, a doubt creeping in.

The dark-haired woman shook her head and, without saying anything, sat in front of the IT security officer’s desk. She tinkered with the computer for a couple of minutes before swearing loudly.

“I think it was him, Boss. This computer is running a weird program that is corrupting the whole system. That explains the bugs and his sudden disappearance. I bet he’s already long gone and used this chaos to cover his tracks.”

“Shit!” Marcus growled. “I’ll have someone check the lab; I have a vague idea of what he was after. Can you fix it?”

The mechanic continued pressing keys for a few minutes, but to no avail. Carl Emerson might have been a mole, there was no denying that he was good at his job.

“I can’t,” the Latina eventually admitted, frustration all over her face. If there was one thing Raven Reyes hated, it was to admit defeat. “Monty, our IT wizard, might be able to crack this, but he is on vacation, visiting his family in the US.”

“What can you do then?” the businessman asked, getting more frustrated by the minute. “The alarms and random locks are concerning, but most of all we need to get the kids, Clarke and Ms. Woods back here safely.”

The woman took her head in her hands, murmuring to herself, until eventually, she stared back at the man. It was a bad plan, a dangerous one, but it was the only thing she could think of to solve all the problems at once.

“We need to restart the system.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t stop Emerson’s program. The only way to get everything back to normal is to reset the system. All the parameters will return to their default settings, and we will have full control again.”

“But won’t that turn off the fences as well? They are the only things still working as they should. Even Emerson wasn’t crazy enough to deactivate them.”

“It will,” the Latina conceded, “but only for a few seconds. The system reboot is almost instantaneous. The dinosaurs won’t even have time to notice the difference.”

“I know it sounds insane,” she added, “but that is the only thing _I_ can do. It’s either that or we wait the 24 hours it will take Monty to come back and fix this.”

“OK, do it,” the billionaire ordered after pondering about the whole situation for a minute. “Let’s bring them back home.”

Raven nodded and returned to the main computer, where she entered a few commands followed by the password Marcus gave her. As fate would have it, the moment she pressed Enter, lightning from the storm struck somewhere in the complex, and all the lights went off. When all those present in the command center could see again, the rooms lit in an ominous green light, the Latina let out a loud, “¡Puta Madre!” and ran back to the computer. She typed a command and the main screen displayed a map of the island, little red exclamation marks popping all over it.

“Reyes, what is happening?” Marcus inquired, not liking the fear on the woman’s face.

“Something is wrong. The system didn’t come back up, probably because of the storm. We are on the backup generator, but it’s only for this building and the lab.”

“What does this mean?” the man asked, pointing at the map.

The dark-haired woman took a deep inhalation before swallowing thickly, and she finally looked at him, her hands trembling, “It means the fences are deactivated. The dinosaurs are free.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Puta Madre (Sp.) = Holy shit!
> 
> Fun fact: I am terrified of sharks, crocodiles... pretty much everything with teeth that lives in the water. So to have a character die that way shows how much I hate them! (Next time I need to find a way to get Titus on a boat too hehe)


	8. Day 2 - evening - carnivore area

The jeep had been immobile for almost an hour, without any contact from the command center, and the children were getting restless. To make things worse, a storm had landed on the island, lowering their visibility. The heavy rain was incessantly hitting the vehicle, and the wind echoing around them made some scary sounds that didn’t help calm Aden and Madi. Clarke managed to keep them busy at first by making them draw the dinosaurs they had seen, but the longer they waited, the more difficult it was becoming. Lexa had to admit that she was getting nervous too, being stranded less than 20 m away from apex predators for an unknown amount of time.

To add insult to injury, Madi eventually tugged on Clarke’s top and whispered something in her ear.

“Can you hold it a little longer Madi? I don’t want to leave the jeep in case it turns on again and starts moving without us.”

The young brunette made a face but she nodded nonetheless, clearly unhappy at the turn of events. The rain surrounding them didn’t help, as Lexa could feel the pressure in her own bladder increase minute by minute. She was about to offer to take Madi to the toilets when, suddenly, all the lights around them turned off. Although it was only mid-afternoon, with the dark sky and absent sun, they were left in semi-darkness.

“Fu—dge,” Clarke shouted, a panicked look on her face.

“Clarke? What’s wrong?” the professor immediately asked, not reassured by her companion’s reaction.

“If the lights are off, it means the system is down. There is no electricity, at least in this side of the park.”

“And the fences?”

The terror growing on the blonde’s face was answer enough. Without electricity, the paddock fences were just large metallic walls. Could they resist the predators once they realized they weren’t getting hurt anymore when they approached them? Based on the fact that the vet was pretty much slamming the call button to reach the command center, despite knowing that it wouldn’t work, Lexa wasn’t so sure.

“Has this ever happened before?”

“No,” the blonde replied, trying to rein herself. “It must be the storm. If the system doesn’t come back up immediately, then something must be off somewhere.”

“We can’t stay here,” the professor stated. “We don’t know how long it will take them to fix whatever the problem is, especially with this rain, and we won’t be safe in this car if...”

She didn’t want to say if the dinosaurs escape their enclosures. They were located in a triangle made by the paddocks of the dilophosauruses, the T-rexes, and the baryonyxes, some of the most powerful predators to ever roam the earth. The little jeep they were in wouldn’t offer much resistance against the claws and teeth of those carnivores. Clarke seemed to understand what she tried to silently convey, as she bit her lips and nodded.

“OK, we need to go. The shops are only 40 m away, we can do it. Kids,” she said, looking at the two children with her serious face on, “you have to do exactly what we tell you, OK? We are going to be fine. Aden, you grab Lexa’s hands, and you follow her. Madi, you are with me. Understood?”

Despite not having all the information, the siblings were clearly aware that something was wrong, as they didn’t try to argue or question what the woman had said. They both promised to do as they were told, and the four of them exited the car quietly, careful not to slam the doors. Clarke took the lead, the young brunette bravely running by her side, while Lexa and Aden followed them in silence towards the shopping area. They had almost made it to the closest door when a ripping metallic sound made them turn around. Despite the rain and the lack of visibility, the group saw claws mounted on short, tiny arms pull at the fence, tearing it apart bit by bit. When the large scaly head of one of the adult T-rex poked out, Lexa shielded Aden behind her, and shout-whispered, “Get in, now!”

Luckily for them, as the island was still empty of tourists, the doors weren’t locked. They found themselves in a clothing and souvenir shop, at the front of a small shopping arcade. The roller shutters had thankfully remained closed on both entrances, offering some security from the predators outside. Doing her best to stay quiet, Lexa signaled for Clarke’s attention before pointing at a shelf.

“Help me move this in front of the door, it will keep it close.”

The blonde nodded silently, and both adults hurried to secure the shop’s emergency exit. It wouldn’t be strong enough to stop a T-rex, but Lexa hoped that, as long as the animals couldn’t see them inside, they wouldn’t try to enter.

“Lex, what are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” the paleontologist admitted. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined herself trapped inside a shop, dinosaurs lurking outside. Well ... maybe she had had a nightmare or two like that while she had been working on her thesis, but she didn’t think it could turn into a real life and death situation.

“It looks like they can’t enter for now. How about I take Madi to the toilets, and then I’ll go look for some food?” she continued, remembering the pressure in her lower abdomen.

She had just taken the little girl’s hand in her own when some screeching noise made them all turn their heads towards the door, now barricaded. By the sound of it, the T-rex, or any other carnivore around, had found the jeep. There went the only vehicle on that side of the park. If the security team didn’t come to pick them up, they would have to walk all the way back to the tourist area. Trying not to let her fear appear on her face, Lexa gently pulled Madi’s arm and lead the young brunette towards the toilets. Luckily for them, they were situated not far from the shop the four survivors had found shelter in. After taking care of their respective business, the paleontologist walked the girl back to Clarke and Aden, and went in search of food.

The arcade building was completely done, but some of the shops weren’t stocked yet, adding to the creepy feeling of walking in a deserted mall at night. Lexa counted six shops on each side. The one they were in was at one end, facing a restaurant that was halfway finished, and sadly didn’t contain any food, frozen or not. The other ones around were souvenir shops, a couple more restaurants, and what looked like a convenience store. This was the latter that the brunette decided to check out, as she could see products on the shelves. Tiptoeing around in order not to attract any unwanted attention from the predators outside, she entered the store, and let a breath escape. At least they wouldn’t die of thirst or hunger. Removing her jacket, she tied the sleeves with the hem to form a makeshift bag, and collected water bottles, snacks, chocolate bars, and flashlights.

On impulse, she checked the other souvenir shops, and almost fist-pumped when she found some comforters covered in dinosaurs. At the rate things were going, they would probably have to spend the night in the shop, so they might as well get comfortable. Throwing her little treasure over her shoulder, the professor returned to the others.

The rest of the afternoon and evening passed relatively quickly, all things considered. Clarke and Lexa took turns accompanying the children to the bathroom, where they all cleaned themselves as best as they could with the sinks and some towels. They ate some of the food supplies Lexa had brought back from the convenience store, and the kids were less than happy when the blonde found some dinosaur toothbrushes and made them brush their teeth. If it weren’t for the animals they could hear outside from time to time, the whole thing felt very domestic, leaving Lexa to wonder how she had managed to become so comfortable with the vet in less than two days.

She observed quietly as the blonde helped Madi and Aden change T-shirts for some in the shop, made them brush their teeth and wash their hands while Lexa held a couple of flashlights, and told them a story to help them fall asleep. If they hadn’t talked about their respective families before, she would have assumed the woman already had children of her own. Once the kids were finally sleeping, wrapped in their comforters, Clarke moved to sit next to the brunette, her head resting on the paleontologist’s shoulder.

“Are you OK?” Lexa asked, sensing her trembling.

“Honestly, I’m terrified,” the blonde replied, keeping her voice low not to wake their young companions. “If I didn’t have to try to keep it together for them, I’d probably be running around like a madwoman.”

“I know how dangerous these animals can be,” she added after a moment of silence. “This is the worst place on the island to be stranded in.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Lexa sighed. “And we have no way to communicate with the command center anymore, so we don’t know what they’ll do or when they’ll send someone to get us, if they do.”

“Of course they will! Marcus wouldn’t leave us here, or his niece and nephew.”

“Maybe,” the brunette conceded, “but the island will be crawling with dinosaurs in no time. It will be difficult for a team to come here if all the carnivores make it out of their paddocks.”

“So, what do you suggest? We make a run for it?”

“I don’t know. I feel like we would be safer on the herbivores' side at least. We are stuck here for the night anyway; between the rain and the darkness, we wouldn’t make it far. Let’s try to rest, and tomorrow we can see how it looks.”

“I’m glad you here. I mean—” Clarke tried to correct herself, realizing how it sounded, “it’s not that I want you in danger, just...”

“Hey, it’s OK, Clarke,” the brunette interrupted her with a smile, intertwining their fingers, “I know what you meant. For what it’s worth, though I would prefer for you to be safe, I’m glad we’re together.”

“Besides,” she added not long after in an effort to lift the other woman’s spirit, “who would be better equipped to survive this than a vet and a paleontologist?”

“Hmm, Dwayne Johnson?” the blonde quipped.

“Well... OK sure. But you would still be my second choice. And you are much prettier.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Ms. Woods,” Clarke teased, before placing a quick peck on the brunette’s lips.

They would probably have remained sitting against each other longer if Madi hadn’t started to thrash in her sleep. With an apologetic look, the blonde stood up quietly and went to lie down next to the girl, hoping her presence would somehow comfort her. She had been stroking the wild brown chocolate mane for a few minutes while humming a song from her childhood when her breath suddenly caught. The young brunette had turned around and buried her face into the blonde’s shoulder, her short legs resting against the longer body. With a smile, Clarke let her arm fall over the girl’s waist, pulling her in a closer embrace.

Lexa didn’t say anything at the sight, but she couldn’t stop the tug at the corner of her own lips. Those two were absolutely adorable, and if it had happened in any other situation, she would have gladly taken pictures of them. She stretched her body before moving to lie near the three of them, an empty comforter already placed on the floor, when she noticed Aden’s shoulders shaking. The boy, trying his best not to wake his sister or bother the adults, was quietly sobbing, his face turned towards the wall rather than Clarke. The professor felt her heart tear at the sight, and she moved her makeshift bed closer to him, before putting a hand on his shoulder to offer comfort. To her surprise, Aden didn’t turn around, but he wiggled himself closer to her until they were lying flush against each other, her arm wrapped against his slim body that had finally stopped shaking. Lexa didn’t remember falling asleep that night, but she woke up with pins and needles in one arm, the other been tightly held by small hands, and a mop of blond hair in her mouth.


	9. Day 2 - evening - command center

In the control room, the park employees were desperately trying to get the system back online, knowing that every minute the fences spent without electricity, a dinosaur could notice and escape. They were running around, some trying to use their cellphones or the park landlines, but all communications with the mainland were cut off. Raven and a couple of engineers had left to go to the maintenance shed, not far from the lab, where the main circuit breakers were located in the hope to manually restore them. In the meantime, Marcus was pacing around the room, the map with blinking exclamation marks stressing him more and more.

“Marcus!” he heard, turning around to see Abby rushing towards him. “What happened? The lab was on lockdown, and someone said that Clarke is in trouble?”

The bearded man hugged his lover tightly, no caring about the rest of his staff watching them. “Abbs, there is a problem with the system. An IT employee pirated it, probably to cause a diversion and steal something from the lab, and now it’s completely down.”

“Where is Clarke? And the kids?” the woman asked, worry apparent in her voice. As a doctor and researcher, she was usually known for her cool demeanor and level head. But Marcus had witnessed her mommy bear side a few times over the previous two years, and there was no easy way to break the news.

“Clarke, Ms. Woods, and the kids are stranded over the second fence. The jeep stopped an hour ago, and we can’t get them on the phone,” he admitted. “We lost the cameras as well, so we don’t know if they are still inside the car or not.”

“You mean that my daughter and the children are stuck there, with all the carnivores around while the fences are not electrified anymore?” The anguish in her voice was mixed with anger, and the businessman didn’t dare to hug her at that moment, afraid as she was that she would strike him. Only when tears began rolling down her face and she looked about to crumble did he move closer and took her in his arms.

“Abby, sit, breathe. Everything will be fine. Clarke is a smart girl, and she’s not alone, Ms. Woods is with her remember?”

“What can we do to help them, Marcus? I can’t lose her, I can’t—” the woman, on the verge of a panic attack, was having more and more difficulties breathing.

“Our head of maintenance is doing her best to switch the electricity back on. Hopefully, she will do it soon, and we will be able to contact the jeep. If needed, I’ll send a team to retrieve—”

“We are going to need to send a team, Boss,” Raven interrupted, a grim look on her face. “I just got back from the maintenance shed, it was hit by lightning. That’s why everything is off. The circuits are melted, there is nothing I can do from there.”

Marcus had always been a pragmatic man. As a businessman, he was used to making calculated decisions and taking risks. But the current situation was testing his optimism and nerves to the limit. His niece and nephew, his lover’s daughter, and his guest were trapped on the most dangerous part of his island, and he had been the one to send them there. Unable to remain upright, he let himself fall onto the closest chair before inhaling loudly.

“What do you suggest then, Ms. Reyes? You mentioned sending a team?” he asked, hating the quiver in his own voice.

“There is a back-up generator located in the carnivore area of the park, on the west side, not far from some of the shops,” the Latina began. “Since the one closest to us is fried, I’ll have to go there and turn the circuits back on manually.”

“I can’t send you there,” Marcus protested. The young woman was brilliant when it came to fixing things, but she knew nothing about dinosaurs or the dangers that could be waiting for her there. He was already responsible for the lives of the four people in the carnivore area, sending more civilians sounded like a terrible idea.

“Trust me, I don’t particularly wanna go either,” the dark-haired woman shrugged, “but I don’t see any other options. Not to doubt your security team’s abilities, but I don’t know what will be waiting for us there. Without coms, I can’t explain to them what to do to fix the system. I need to be there and see for myself.”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by cries, and Lincoln came rushing into the command center.

“Sir, we need you outside. Both of you,” he said panting, looking at Marcus and Abby. As they exited the building, they noticed what had caused the panic outside. A few pteranodons, clearly escaped from the aviary, had flown all the way to the tourist area, and were now gliding over them or landing on the different buildings, screeching.

“Oh my God,” Marcus stuttered, before regaining his senses. If these reptiles had found a way out of their cage, it was only a matter of time before the other animals did too. He could only pray that Clarke and the others were safely hiding somewhere, but at that moment he had an obligation not only to his family, but also to all his employees.

“Indra,” he shouted, calling the attention of his head of security, a dark-skinned woman with a no-nonsense attitude he had come to really appreciate, “please gather everyone inside the command center as fast as you can.”

“These dinosaurs won’t attack you,” Abby felt compelled to add, trying to reassure the woman as well as herself. “They are piscivorous.”

“They are flying reptiles,” the former soldier grumbled, “if they come too close to my men or anyone else, we will shoot them.”

Sensing that it was a lost cause, the geneticist followed her boyfriend back inside, and helped him direct every person they could find into the largest room of the building. About 20 minutes later, Indra and her security team were back, accompanied by the 48 employees that were on site that day. Marcus informed them of the situation as best as he could, Raven interrupting when it came to explaining why the electricity was off. To their credit, most of the park staff members, though scared, didn’t panic or start shouting. They listened carefully and without interrupting.

“So, now you all know what is happening,” the bearded man spoke again, “I realize there is a storm outside, but I’m going to need all of you to board onto one of the boats, now, and leave this island. Only Ms. Reyes and the security team will remain with me to get the park under control.”

Convincing Abby to leave the island without him or her daughter turned out to be as difficult as he had expected, but Marcus was uncompromising. If he was going to send all his armed men into a potentially very hostile territory, he couldn’t spare anyone to stay near the lab and protect his lover. When the woman pointed out that he was staying, and she could just keep him company, he explained that someone had to keep an eye on the computers and turn on all the fences as soon as the electricity was back on, not to mention calling the US government for reinforcement, but that he didn’t want her in any danger.

The two of them had a complicated relationship, and compromising was not something either of them did well. After spending a few years in the same university, though in different courses, they had drifted apart. Abby had then met and married Jake Griffin, and spent 20 happy years by the man’s side raising their kind and smart daughter. After her husband’s passing, she was inconsolable for years, drowning her sadness in her work, which created a rift between Clarke and her. When Marcus called her out of the blue with a job proposal, she was initially surprised and reluctant, but it helped her immensely, both on a personal and professional level. The two of them had some difficulties at first, as the businessman was used to having his way, and the brunette could be incredibly stubborn. Though he was technically the geneticist’s boss, he knew better than to give her orders. But with time, they learned to communicate better, and they were very much in love.

The blonde wasn’t thrilled at first to hear about her mother’s new boyfriend, regardless of the number of years the woman had been a widow, but once they had started working together in Jurassic Park, the relationship between the two Griffin women had improved. Though Clarke had joked that she adamantly refused to call Marcus “Dad”, the two of them were on friendly terms, the bearded man’s kindness and patience winning her over. As the man was clearly blaming himself for putting her daughter in her current predicament, not to mention the two children they were now responsible for, the geneticist eventually relented and agreed to leave with the rest of the staff.

All the employees walked to the largest boat, Indra and her team covering them on both sides, in case the pteranodons proved to be less into fish than they should be. The rain and wind hadn’t lessened, and every single person was drenched by the time the last of them had climbed on board and the boat was slowly leaving port. Once Marcus and the team were back inside, they had to discuss the second part of the plan.

Despite the businessman’s supplications, Indra refused to immediately send her men behind the first fence, as the night was almost upon them and the visibility was already low due to the weather. Without proper night vision goggles, they would be easy prey for the predators. After looking at the maps, they all agreed that if the vet, the paleontologist, and the children were hiding somewhere, it would probably be in the shopping area on the east side, and right after turning the electricity back on, the group would head in that direction. The security team barricaded the command center’s doors for the night, and the 11 men and women, plus Indra, Marcus, and Raven tried their best to get a few hours of sleep before a new day came, and with it all sorts of dangers.


	10. Day 3 – morning - shopping area / carnivore side

When Clarke opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that she had slept well, all things considered. Madi was still curled in her arms, her chocolate mane so tangled the blonde cringed at the prospect of brushing it, especially without any hair product to help tame the crazy curls. Lifting her head above the girl’s head, she noticed that Lexa and Aden were already up, quietly moving around the shop to gather their things.

The vet had woken up during the night to go to the toilet, and the sight of the brunette holding the little boy as he slept had brought a tender smile on her face. She knew that Lexa found herself awkward and uncomfortable around children, mostly by lack of habit, but she truly was a natural. Clarke had no doubt the woman would make an excellent mother one day. Not that it should matter to her. It didn’t. It was simply easier to take care of the cute little siblings with Lexa’s help — or so the blonde kept telling herself.

After cleaning their bodies and faces as best as they could and eating breakfast, the children distracted themselves with a board game — Dinosaur Escape, the irony wasn’t lost on either of the adults — while Clarke and Lexa were discussing their options.

The brunette had cast a look outside through the roller shutters and confirmed that the jeep looked completely trashed. Even if Marcus’s employees managed to turn the electricity back on, it would be unusable. Which only left them with two choices really, wait into the shopping arcade for a team to rescue them, or attempt to walk back to the herbivore side and pray that the fence was still holding.

The vet preferred the former option. As she pointed out, they had no way of knowing if people were already coming to pick them up or not, and since the fence had two entry points, they could very well miss each other and put themselves in danger for nothing. The arcade seemed like a safe place, no dinosaur had made its way inside, and it offered toilets, clothes, and plenty of food. Though the brunette agreed with her arguments, she feared they would end up being trapped if the carnivores managed to accidentally open any of the safety exit doors. Running around in the forest sounded insane, but at least they could climb the trees to escape the predators, and they had enough backpacks to carry whatever they needed to make the trip back south.

In the end, the decision was taken out of their hands an hour later when a loud cracking noise resonated inside the arcade, followed by several growls and thumps. Lexa barely had time to clamp her hand on Madi’s muffle her cry, in fear the predators would hear them. With panic looks on their faces, the four of them grabbed the backpacks they had found in another souvenir shop which, luckily, they had already packed as a safety measure, and ran as quietly as they could towards the shop located on the opposite side of the noises. Clarke had her hand on the knob when the door close to where they had slept burst open, with part of the wall and some shelves falling on the floor. From what they could see, a megalosaurus was fighting some smaller carnivores, dilophosauruses most probably. Lexa nodded with a clear urgency and the blonde opened the door as quietly as possible. They both looked left and right, making sure that the coast was clear, before running towards the trees, their heads low and feet light on the cement. Once they had put some distance between them and the snarling carnivores, the four of them, panting, hid in a large bush to decide what to do next.

“What are you thinking Lex?”

“We can’t stay in the open, the dinosaurs would catch up with us in no time,” the brunette replied after a moment, rubbing Madi’s back to calm the little girl. “We should walk through the forest.”

“But that will make us take a detour, it will take much longer to reach the fence,” the blonde pointed out.

“I know. But these trees are thick, and the forest is dense enough that I don’t think the largest predators will be able to follow us. And it offers more hiding spots if need be.”

In the end, it didn’t take much more to convince the vet. Even if there was not much they could do about the smaller carnivores — namely the velociraptors and dilophosauruses — neither of them wanted to face a hungry T-rex, megalosaurus, or baryonyx. They had no better option than to hike through the forest and hope the predators would keep fighting among themselves rather than look for an easy snack. Clarke and Lexa tightened the straps of their backpacks containing all the food and water they had managed to get, the children were wearing smaller ones with clothes and comforters inside, and they stepped deeper into the jungle-like forest.

They walked for more than an hour, Madi doing her best to follow and not trip over the traitorous roots and hidden rocks that covered the ground. Aden was faring better, encouraging his sister with thumb ups and smiles while not letting a word leave his tightened lips in fear of attracting the predators’ attention. Eventually, some discomfort appeared on his features, enough for Clarke to notice.

“Aden, what’s wrong?” the blonde whispered.

The boy valiantly shook his head and kept walking, but after another 10 minutes, he confessed with a grimace, “I need to pee.”

“Me too,” Madi chimed in.

After looking all around to make sure they weren’t in any immediate danger, Lexa ushered them all towards large bushes.

“OK, potty break it is then,” she started, looking at the three people in front of her with seriousness. “Here are the rules: we don’t want to attract predators, so we’ll have to hide our tracks. We’ll all dig a hole, and once you’re done, you cover it. Madi, do you need help?”

The young brunette nodded after a moment, not being used to relieve herself without a toilet seat. In the end, Clarke volunteered to help her dig a hole and hold her while she peed, while Lexa gave Aden a hand before stepping behind the next bush to take care of her business. All of them feeling much lighter, the small group continued its march south, the adults frequently casting a glance over their shoulders to make sure that they weren’t been followed. The forest was eerily silent, reminding Lexa of a horror movie, but at least it would be easier to hear any threat approach.

Another 30 minutes later, they were about half-way to the fence when a narrow river appeared in front of them, probably a result of the torrential rain of the night before. With a smirk, the paleontologist collected some mud into her hand before throwing it at Clarke’s chest, earning herself a glare and a very annoyed, “Lexa, what the heck?”

“It’s to mask our scent,” she explained, before gathering more brown goo and rubbing it on her legs. “Come on kids, I’m sure you don’t get many occasions to roll in the mud, enjoy!”

Before the blonde could even try to stop them, the siblings broke into excited giggles and threw themselves on the ground, rolling and rolling until their legs, torso, and arms were covered in thick mud.

“Come on Clarke, you too,” the brunette joked before threatening her with another handful of the disgusting mixture. “You don’t have to apply any on your face if you don’t want to, though I heard it’s great for the skin, but I recommend putting some on your hair and on the rest of your body.”

“Did they teach you that in paleontology classes?” the vet groaned before complying, trying her best to keep her hair clean.

“Camping actually. My parents loved it, they used to take me and my sister every year in the summer. They were quite big on survival and stuff; I never thought I’d be needing those skills in real life though,” she finished with a sad smile on her face.

“Do you still go camping with them?” Aden asked, his eyes glinting with excitement. Neither he nor Madi had ever been camping, but he heard from some friends that it was a lot of fun. He hoped to convince his uncle to take them, unfortunately, the businessman was always too busy, not to mention hardly used to sleeping on the ground or under a tent.

“Sadly, no,” Lexa hesitated, not wanting to reopen the children’s barely healing wounds. “They passed away years ago, when I was a teenager.”

“Oh.”

The two children grew quiet at the news, reminiscing about their own recent loss. In an effort to lift their spirits, the brunette continued.

“It was a bit rough for a year, but eventually our uncle Gustus took us in. He looks like a giant, with a large beard and thick muscles, so I was terrified of him at first. He didn’t know what to do to get me to trust him until Anya, my sister, mentioned our camping trips with our parents. Next thing I knew, he took us to the mountains for the weekend, two tents and enough s’mores to feed an army of bears. It was his way of breaking the ice between us.”

“Did you have fun?” Madi inquired with a soft voice, more invested in the story than Lexa would have expected her to be. Maybe the little girl was wondering if she would ever have fun again too, or how long it would take.

“Gosh no,” Lexa laughed. “The weather was horrible; we were stuck in the tents the whole time, Anya and I practically murdered each other. And when it finally cleared out, I ate so many s’mores that I was sick the rest of the trip.”

“But you know what happened after that?” she asked the children, trying not to focus on the smile on Clarke’s face as she listened to her embarrassing story. “Uncle Gustus took care of me for hours. He made me drink water, held my hair while I puked, and once we got home, he made me chicken soup. The trip was really horrible, but it taught me that I could trust him, that he would have my back, and Anya’s, no matter what. I was never again afraid of him after that.”

“Uncle Marcus is nice to us,” Aden said, his teeth biting his upper lip, making him look like he was thinking hard, “he tries to ask what we like and how we feel. I wish he had more time for us, he is always traveling.”

“I know the feeling,” Clarke sighed, placing her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “My mother was working so hard every day when I was young too, I felt like I couldn’t spend time with her. It took me years to realize that it didn’t mean that she didn’t love me, or that she preferred her job. It’s just that some people are very busy with important jobs, and don’t always know how to prioritize.”

Lexa cocked her head to the side, her eyes not leaving the two blonds in front of her, and the tiny brunette who was inching closer to Clarke, until her body was leaning against the vet. The four of them had been through a lot and knew the devastation that came with losing a parent. She felt tears pool in her eyes as she remembered how broken she had been after the tragedy that had struck her family, how long it had taken Anya and Gustus to get her back on her two feet and to open her heart again. She promised herself that she would do everything she could to help the two children that were, for now at least, under her care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: according to Wikipedia, the Megalausorus was the first non-avian dinosaur to be validly named, in 1824. Obviously, I had to include it in this fic.


	11. Day 3 - morning - carnivore area

As dawn broke over the Pacific Ocean, the security team, plus Raven, exited the Command Center in search of vehicles to carry them beyond the two main fences. The maintenance head was clad in a red jacket and warm clothes, the 12 other men and women forming a wall around her, weapons armed and ready to shoot any dinosaur that would come too close.

After wishing them good luck and assuring Indra that he would be safe, Marcus locked the entrance and returned to the control room, praying for a miracle. He had received no news of his guests since the night before, and by now, it was pretty much guaranteed that the carnivores had made it out of their paddocks. The bearded man took his head in his hands, tears threatening to spill, and hoped with all his heart that the only two remaining members of his family were safe, and that the team would be able to reach them before it was too late.

It was a small blessing in all the chaos, but the pteranodons didn’t pay the team much attention, too busy as they were fishing and making their nests on the various buildings of the touristic area. Following the dark-skinned woman’s orders, the former soldiers and police officers inspected the hotel and shopping mall grounds and found some of the manual jeeps reserved for the park’s staff. Keeping in mind that they would hopefully need some extra space for two adults and two children, the group divided itself up into three vehicles.

The ride to the first fence was short and tense. Despite Raven’s attempts to lighten the mood, Indra, a 20-something year old called Artigas, and a burly bearded man named Nyko didn’t utter a single word, too busy as they were keeping track of their surroundings. After manually opening the security doors, the three jeeps entered the area allocated to the herbivores.

Things didn’t appear different from the last time they had patrolled, Indra thought, but she could feel some tension in the air. The docile animals seemed a little more nervous, and though it could be a result of the presence of heavily armed people driving near them, the ex-soldier had long learned to rely on her instincts. She hoped the attitude of the grass-eating dinosaurs was caused by the pteranodons freely flying above them, but her mind couldn’t discard the possibility that some carnivores had already found their way inside the enclosed plain.

The group drove through the land as quickly as they could, slaloming between the trees and crossing the river at its lowest point. Some gallimimuses approached them cautiously, their tiny eyes bouncing between the different vehicles, forelegs flapping by reflex, but the other gentle giants remained at a distance. Raven knew that she had nothing to fear from the allosauruses that were staring at them from the shore, but imagining how much pressure per square inch there could be under their gigantic feet, she was grateful for the separation between them.

When the team finally arrived at the second fence, the doors were thankfully still closed, and for a minute, they hoped that things could return to the way they had been before Emerson’s betrayal and the storm. Two men cranked them open, the rest of the security team surrounding them with their automatic rifles ready to fire, Indra reminding them to be cautious, as they were near the megalosaurus’ cage.

“Lincoln,” the head of security called, “take Nyko and Ryder, and go to the shops in the east as quickly as you can. Hopefully, Ms. Griffin, Ms. Woods, and the children are hiding there.”

“Should be really split up?” Raven asked, surprised at the woman’s decision, while Lincoln nodded and left immediately with his teammate in one of the vehicles.

“Neither option is safe Ms. Reyes,” Indra admitted, “I want to be out of here as soon as possible. On the plus side, the animals are fast, but none of them should be able to outrun a jeep. The goal is to turn on the electricity, grab the civilians, and return behind the fence before the carnivores break through.”

So far, luck had been on their side and they hadn’t met a single predator. Maybe the paddocks were holding up better than they had expected? The remaining 10 people piled up into the two cars, and headed west for the back-up generator, near the coast, slightly out of the way. They began to breathe more easily when they spotted the low-rise building across a field, and entered the high grass slowly, one car in front of the other. They were about halfway through when the first jeep suddenly stopped, forcing Artigas to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision.

“What are you doing?” Indra shouted in the walkie-talkie.

Screams and gunshots pierced the silence, an invisible enemy tearing at the vehicle, making it shake from side to side, not leaving its five passengers a chance to escape. The occupants of the second jeep didn’t have time to comprehend what had happened that streaks of blood appeared on the rear windshield, making Raven cry in surprise and fear.

“Reverse!” Indra barked, and the car jerked when Artigas put it into reverse gear and pressed hard on the gas pedal.

Before they could go far and exit the field, the jeep hit a trunk lying on the ground and ended up half-over it, two of its wheels turning uselessly half a foot above the grass. Out of nowhere, a velociraptor jumped on the hood, making them all gasp before Artigas and Indra grabbed their weapons and shot it through the windshield. Luckily for them, most of the predators seemed to have stayed with the first jeep, as no other attacked them.

“We’re stuck,” Artigas said through his gritted teeth, after shifting gears a couple of times with no results.

“All right,” Indra groaned, “we’ll have to continue on foot. Shoot anything that gets close. Move!”

The five people stepped out of the useless vehicle, Raven at the center, and headed once again towards the building containing the back-up generator. They had barely walked 10 m that a velociraptor appeared on their left, drawing fire from the two men on that side. While the group was distracted, a couple more, lurking in the tall grass, suddenly jumped on the female security officer, Fox, their enlarged claw digging into her back to stabilize themselves, and they tore her throat out before she could emit more than a gurgle.

“Fall back!” Indra shouted, shooting at the carnivores that were now less than 2 meters away from her.

The remaining four people ran back towards the road and the fence, passing their useless jeep, the velociraptors in tow. They were almost out of the high grass when two raptors materialized ahead of them, blocking their escape. Quint, a muscular shaved-head man, tried to fire at them, but his rifle got jammed. With a shriek, he pushed Indra in front of him when the carnivores leaped at them, and took off. The dark-skinned woman groaned in pain when one of the animals bit her leg and the other, its claw embedded in her hip, clenched its jaws around her shoulder, but she managed to shoot them both in the head, killing them instantly. Raven wrapped the former soldier’s arm around her shoulders and pulled her forward, Artigas covering them with two rifles. Though they attempted to look for Quint, despite his cowardly action, the cries and grunts coming from their left, about 30 meters away, informed them that it was already too late.

The three survivors were running as fast as they could on the cemented road, aiming for the large fence, the pants and echoes of claws tapping the ground letting them know that the rest of the raptors were giving pursuit. They were convinced their final hour was up, when out of nowhere the third jeep stopped in front of them in a screeching of tires, Lincoln firing his rifle at the beasts, who finally disappeared back into the high grass.

“Get in!” Nyko shouted at them from the driver's seat.

“What happened?” Indra asked once the six employees were situated, “you couldn’t find them?”

“I’m sorry Indra,” Lincoln replied, his head hung low, “we couldn’t get close enough. There were carnivores everywhere, T-rexes, baryonyxes... We saw what was left of the jeep, they weren’t inside as far as I can tell. But the dinosaurs managed to break into the shopping arcade, one wall was destroyed.”

“I see,” the woman said after a heavy pause, her eyes full of sadness. “Let’s return to the command center.”

“But, how about the kids? And our mission? Are we just going to give up?” Raven exclaimed with anguish. “There is no other way to get the system back online.”

“Ms. Reyes, I just lost 7 men and women in less than 10 minutes, and they were all well trained and heavily armed. Even if Ms. Griffin and the others made it to the shops in the first place, they are most certainly dead by now. And the velociraptors are circling the maintenance shed, preventing us from reaching it. I won’t risk the rest of my team on suicide missions. We have to go back, collect Mr. Kane, and leave this island. There is nothing more we can do.”

Raven looked as if she wanted to argue more, but she kept silent. The decision was evidently paining the team leader, and she wouldn’t have taken it without weighing the risks and consequences. The Latina refused to believe that two children, her friend, and the cool paleontologist she had only seen from afar were dead, but based on their own run with the raptors, how could anyone escape such dangerous predators? And without any weapons at that? Wiping the tear that threatened to spill from her deep brown eyes, she focused on the fence growing larger and larger in front of them. She didn’t envy Indra at that moment, the thought of having to break the news to Marcus Kane felt like a punch in her guts. And how would Abby survive the loss of her only child, whom she adored despite their complex relationship?

Once they were back on the herbivore side of the island, the six of them released a deep breath, thinking themselves safe. As far as they knew, the separation was still intact, and they had a lot less to fear now that they had left the dangerous predators lurking around. The jeep was moving steadily, bouncing from time to time over roots and rocks, making its occupants’ shoulders brush against each other in pace with the jolts. They had been driving for about 15 minutes when Ryker suddenly tapped on the driver’s arm to get his attention, and pointed to the left. Once the vehicle was idle on top of a hill, the six of them stepped out, weapons at hand and jaws hanging in disbelief.

A sight of chaos and desolation greeted them, bringing tears to their eyes. Several herbivores lay on the ground, deep wounds and missing chunks of meat visible even with the distance. They spotted a brachiosaurus, two saurolophuses, and what appeared to be the remains of an ankylosaurus. All animals had been killed and partially eaten, leaving no doubt as to who was responsible. They weren’t as safe as they had thought. The carnivores had broken through the fence. They were everywhere now.


	12. Day 3 - afternoon/evening - herbivore area

Covered in mud, their hair full of leaves and sticking weirdly, the group of four was quite the sight. After escaping the shopping arcade and trekking through the forest, they made it to the fence separating the carnivore from the herbivore area around midday. The two children, not used to hiking or spending much time outdoors, were exhausted, but they continued valiantly, knowing that it was a matter of life and death. Once they reached the 40-foot-high wall, their worst fear turned out to be true. The couple of interlocking automatic gates had been ripped open, the indentations of sharp claws leaving no doubt as to what had happened. The carnivores had found a way to escape, and now they could be roaming the whole island; making the trip back to the command center tenfold riskier.

Not wanting to alarm the kids any more than they were, Lexa and Clarke nodded at each other, tightened their backpacks’ straps, and stepped forward. They had to attempt to return to the jetty, no matter what. Staying rooted there would get them killed, as no one seemed to be coming for them anymore.

“What are we gonna do, Lex?” the blonde whispered, “this part of the island is mostly a vast plain, and we can’t outrun the predators if they find us.”

“I know,” the paleontologist replied, her jaw so tense she could feel the muscle scream in pain, “we have to try anyway. If this were a movie, I’d catch a triceratops so we could all ride it back to safety. But I doubt this will work in real life.”

“Probably not, no,” Clarke rolled her eyes playfully, grateful for her companion’s tentative to lighten the mood despite everything. “So, what? Do we continue through the forest? It doesn’t go all the way to the next fence, and it will take longer than crossing through the plain, but it has worked well so far.”

“Yeah. At the pace we are going, I doubt we’ll make it back before sundown anyway, so we’ll need a place to sleep. I don’t know about you, but the top of a tree sounds much safer to me than the ground right now.”

“Agreed. The forest it is then,” the vet said in a half-hearted sing-song before pushing the groaning children in front of her towards the large trees.

The forest in that part of the island wasn’t a continuous expanse, but rather wooden patches separated by hills and stretches of plain, leaving them more vulnerable at times. They had to hop from grove to grove, hoping the carnivores wouldn’t see them. The cries they could hear coming from the herbivores being hunted and killed did nothing to alleviate their fears, and Clarke prayed they would make it to the fence or a jeep would find them before something happened.

Near the first coppice, they stopped in surprise when Aden broke the silence with a curious “What’s that?” his hands pointing at a pile of sticks and grass hidden under a large root. As they got closer, the adults noticed the eggshells that had attracted his attention, as well as the prints of small paws running away from the nest.

“Oh my god!” Clarke exclaimed; her mouth wide open at what seemed to be pachycephalosaurus eggs. “They are reproducing in the wild!”

“Life found a way,” the brunette muttered, astonished.

“How is that possible?” the boy asked. “Uncle Marcus said all the dinosaurs here were girls.”

“I don’t know, Aden,” the blonde replied, frowning. “They were all born girls that’s true, I’m not sure what happened, I would need blood samples and the machines at the lab to understand.”

Clarke knew that her mother would pass out from the news, and she felt her heart pang at the thought. With no means of communication, she could only hope the geneticist was safe. They would have to make hypotheses about how this miracle had come to be — the frog DNA was at the top of her list — but it wasn’t the priority at the moment.

They had been walking on the herbivore side for almost four hours, taking short breaks whenever possible to let the children rest, and crossing the river with difficulties, when a roar made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. They were out in the open, halfway between two covered areas when one of the adult T-rex spotted them. Its maw and teeth were dripping with the blood of the dead ankylosaurus lying at its feet, but rather than continue its feast, the predator charged at them.

“RUN!” Clarke shouted, pushing Aden towards the trees that stood about 25 m away from them.

The dinosaur was gaining ground quickly, its hinder legs propelling it faster than any human would ever be able to run, making the earth tremble with each step. Sensing that they wouldn’t make it in time otherwise, Lexa grabbed Madi by the waist and threw her over her shoulder, the adrenaline pumping in her blood so strongly that she didn’t stop or falter. They barely had time to pass the first few trees that the carnivore was upon them, its jaws closing less than a meter away from Madi’s head. The animal growled at its preys escaping under the shadows of the trees, the thick trunks blocking its large body. It managed to uproot a couple of them, tearing the bark with its small forelimbs, but eventually, it grew tired and gave up, returning to the body of the herbivore it had killed. Panting and shaking, the four survivors hurried towards the center of the grove, where the trees were thicker and closer together, offering better protection against the predators.

“Is everyone OK?” Clarke whizzed; a hand pressed against a trunk to support herself.

“Yeah, though I might need a change of underwear,” Lexa replied with a grimace, making the vet chuckle and shake her head.

As they feared the T-rex might be lurking around, and the sun was going to set relatively soon, the two adults decided that it was a good place as any to camp and wait out the night. They found the tree with the thickest branches, and began climbing, helping the children up as they went. Fortunately for them, the branches formed a platform of a sort located about 3 m above ground, which would protect them from the raptors and dilophosauruses.

Setting the comforters around themselves, the four of them ate an early dinner, talking about the day. When the night fell, the children, exhausted, fell asleep on one side, curled against each other under a small blanket, under two pairs of watchful eyes.

“How are you doing?” the brunette whispered, her right hand trapped in Clarke’s left.

The blonde shrugged, before asking in a quivering voice, “Do you think we’re gonna be OK? Are we gonna make it?”

“Hey, come here,” Lexa said, moving her arm so she could wrap it around the woman’s shoulders, before kissing the muddy blond hair. “We are gonna be fine. Look at how far we’ve come already. Tomorrow we’ll follow the river south, cross the second fence, and leave this island for good. I won’t let anything happen to you, or the kids, I promise.”

“You should make a promise you can’t keep.”

“Fine. I promise that I’ll do everything in my power to protect the three of you and get you to safety. How’s that?”

“Thank you,” the vet murmured, angling her body so she could face the brunette, caressing a high cheekbone and the strong jaw she was enamored with, before brushing her lips against pouty ones.

She had meant to keep it light, just a thankful peck really, but between the stress of the previous 24 hours, and the fact that they had kissed only once since their first night of passion, things didn’t go as planned. Instead, long fingers began scraping her scalp, and an inquisitive tongue found its way into her mouth. It was only once Clarke realized that she had moved to straddle the brunette, grinding against a taut stomach, and that a hand had sneaked under her shirt and grabbed one of her breasts that she stopped, moving her head back with a smirk.

“Really Lex? The Jane of the Jungle look is doing it for you?”

“You’re beautiful,” the professor shrugged, feigning detachment, her hand still massaging the soft skin. When the blonde raised an eyebrow at her before pointedly looking at her chest, she had the decency to blush, before saying, “What? They make me feel better, I thought it might work on you too...” earning herself a laugh and a light slap on the shoulder.

Not wanting to scar the children for life if they were to wake up, Clarke lifted a leg and untangled herself from the brunette after kissing her forehead one more time. She sat next to the lean woman once more, and let her head fall back on her shoulder with a deep sigh.

“You OK there?”

“Yeah. I was just thinking about my mom. She must be losing her wits with worry, not knowing if we’re dead or alive. I hope she’s not doing anything crazy, like looking for us,” the blonde admitted.

“I don’t know them very well, but I can’t imagine Marcus would let her put herself in danger when they already have to worry about you and the kids.”

“I hope so. What do you think happened? I really believed he would send the security team to our rescue. It’s been a day, why didn’t they come for us?”

“I’m not sure, Clarke. Maybe they were too late? We don’t know when the carnivores made it through the fence; it’s possible that he sent a team but they had to turn back because it was too dangerous.”

“Do you think the harbor area is safe?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I hope so. As long as they left us a boat, I should be able to get us back to the mainland.”

“You sail?”

“I used to, with my parents. It was one of our bonding activities. Anya got so into it that she joined the Navy when she turned 18, despite Gustus’s objections.”

“Oh, I see. That’s very brave of her,” Clarke whispered, trying not to wake the children lying less than two meters away from them. “Is she still on active service?”

“No,” Lexa answered with a frown. “She was injured a couple of years ago, and got an honorary discharge. Now she works security for a big company. It pays better, and it’s much safer thankfully. She lives in a different city, though, so we don’t see each other often. I haven’t even told her that I was traveling.”

Sensing the mood change, the blonde turned to look at Lexa’s face, and said with the most assured voice she could muster, “Hey, you will see her again. And I’m going to see my mom. We have each other’s back, right?”

The paleontologist nodded quietly, grateful for the reassurance, and let her head lean against the bark. The two women fell asleep pretty soon after that, the exhaustion of the day catching up with them. Lexa only had the strength to pull a comforter over their bodies before her eyelids closed of their own accord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you are enjoying the story so far 😀  
> The two groups will soon reunite, hang in there!
> 
> Those of you who like the fluffy chapters and the parts featuring Clexa and the kids should read my latest one-shot "Eden", I think you'll like it!


	13. Day 3 - afternoon/night - herbivore area

“Indra,” Lincoln asked, “what are we going to do? The carnivores must have broken through the other set of gates.”

“Yes, I assume so too,” the stern woman replied, ill-at-ease at the sight of the dead dinosaurs. “The plan remains the same, we return to the command center as quickly as possible, grab Mr. Kane, and leave this forsaken island. If the carnivores are free, there is no going back. We don’t have the weapons and ammunition to take them all out.”

“What about Clarke and the others?” Raven spoke up, unwilling to abandon the blonde vet who had become somewhat of a friend over the two years they had spent together on the island. “Is it possible that maybe they went through the fence too, if there is a large gap in it?”

“Ms. Reyes,” Indra sighed, “you do realize that the probability of them making it out of the shopping arcade and through the carnivore area is very low, don’t you? It would be a miracle if they survived on their own since yesterday afternoon, in such a hostile environment.”

Seeing that the Latina refused to abandon hope, the woman bit her lower lip, and eventually relented. “If they are still alive, then they would have to walk back to the command center, from the gap in the fence which is most certainly located at the east gates. I can’t imagine the animals climbed the 40-feet-high walls, even without electricity. The soundest choice would be for them to walk through the wooden areas, as they provide more cover. Instead of going straight back, we can cross the plain and then drive along the coppices on the east side.”

The five other people nodded in agreement, not wanting to abandon two women and two children to a terrible fate without trying their best. They all returned to the jeep, knowing they had only one shot at finding the other potential survivors and rushing back to the harbor.

The first part of their journey went relatively well, all things considered. They crossed the plain from west to east without making any dangerous encounters. Nyko spotted a couple of dilophosauruses running after the gallimimuses, but they remained far enough not to be a problem.

After driving for about 30 minutes, the group could glimpse some wooden areas when things took a turn for the worse. Coming directly from the closest grove, a T-rex was running towards them at full speed, growling. Lincoln turned the wheel quickly, making the vehicle swerve to the left, in hopes to leave the predator behind. They were faster, but the animal refused to give up, and its ominous presence in the rear-view mirror did nothing to alleviate their fear.

Too focused on losing the carnivore to think, none of them remembered the topography of the plain, or the fact that they were heading north and straight for the river, and specifically the 20-foot-high waterfall located on the east side of the herbivore area. By the time they spotted the drop, it was too late to turn around. The shaved-headed man slammed on the brakes, making the jeep skid and stop only a handful of yards away from the edge. The waterfall, about 15 meters to their side, formed a large pond at the bottom of the cliff before continuing down the plain in a calmer river. They were trapped.

Not wanting to take the risk of being pushed over the edge if they remained in the car, the six passengers exited the useless jeep, weapons at hands. They had managed to put some distance between them and the T-rex, but it was approaching at speed, its body appearing bigger by the second. The five ex-soldiers aimed, ready to shoot the creature as soon as it was close enough, and with the tension of the situation, they would have missed the threat coming from the side if Raven hadn’t shouted, “Careful! On the right!”

Jerking their heads to the side, Indra and her team noticed immediately the allosaurus that had almost managed to sneak up on them, running along the cliff they had found themselves on. They shot at it, but the beast didn’t seem to notice, not even slowing down.

“Jump!” Indra shouted when the animal leaped over the abandoned jeep.

Raven wanted to argue that it was insane. They had no idea how deep the water was, she wasn’t the best swimmer in the world, and the predators could still try to follow them. But the decision was taken out of her hands when Lincoln pretty much tackled her, precipitating both of them over the edge, sadly not fast enough for her not to catch a glimpse of the allosaurus sinking its teeth into someone’s torso. Between the shock of hitting the water, and the coldness that surrounded her, the dark-haired woman lost her breath and began to panic. Luckily for her, strong arms circled her waist and pulled her back towards the surface, kicking and spluttering.

“Raven, calm down,” Lincoln spoke in her ear. “We are OK for now.”

“Where—where are we?” the shaking woman asked, confused by their surroundings. She noticed Indra and Nyko getting out of the water, the cave around them wet and cold. She nearly screamed when Artigas burst through the surface, taking a deep inhalation.

“We are behind the waterfall,” Nyko replied with a sad voice. “That should protect us from the predators, we’ll have to wait them out.”

“I thought I saw someone—,” the Latina started, before looking around. There were only five of them left.

“Ryder got caught before he could jump,” the bearded man continued, his head facing the ground to hide his tears.

“I’m sorry my friend,” Lincoln replied gently, putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort. “He was brave, and a trustworthy man. We will honor him.”

Feeling like she was intruding on a private conversation, Raven turned aside, trying to look through the cascading water that curtained them off from the rest of the world. The cave was deeper than she would have expected, leaving enough space for them to sit or even lay without touching each other. It would have been almost comfortable if not for the chilly temperatures and the constant humidity saturating the air. They would have to stay in their wet clothes, without any fire or source of warmth, until it was safe to come out. At least the security team members had managed to hold onto their weapons.

“Try to rest,” Indra ordered them. “We’ll take turns watching the entrance.”

Obeying without complaints for once, Raven curled into a ball, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. She hadn’t thought she would be able to rest, with danger lurking around and the hard rocks digging into her back, but the exhaustion of the previous 24 hours settled in, and she fell into a dreamless sleep. It was the middle of the night when Lincoln woke her, his large hand shaking her gently, so they could replace Indra and Artigas. Nyko was still prostrate in a corner, not paying attention to the world around him, his eyes dim and red.

“Is he going to be OK?” Rave murmured, pointing towards the bearded man with her chin.

“He—yes, he will be, but he needs time,” Lincoln sighed. “Ryder was his younger brother. They were inseparable ever since they were kids.”

“I’m sorry. Have you known them for a long time?”

“Yes. We come from the same neighborhood. Pretty much grew up together. We enlisted at the same time, and when Nyko decided to leave the Army, we followed. I was the first one to get hired by Mr. Kane, and I recommended them both,” the man finished sadly.

“You know it’s not your fault, right?” the Latina said, attempting to alleviate his guilt. “No one could have predicted it would turn out this way.”

The burly man shrugged and grabbed a rifle before posting himself near the water, a quiet sentinel watching over his companions. Raven took another one and sat a few steps away from him. She doubted she would make much of a difference if the predators attacked, but at least she could make sure he stayed awake.

When morning came, the five survivors looked worse for wear. None of them had slept well, between the sadness and the cold, and they knew that the day would be long and risky. They had to continue on foot towards the fence and the command center, with carnivores roaming around. Lincoln volunteered to check if the coast was clear, and he disappeared under the water, leaving the four remaining people to look at each other anxiously. Long minutes later, he emerged, a small smile on his face, and confirmed that he hadn’t spotted any animal.

One after the other, the ex-soldiers took a deep breath and plunged, ready for a fight. The dark-skinned man offered Raven his hand, having noticed that she wasn’t a very confident swimmer, and helped her dive under the waterfall. They all emerged quietly, their mouths barely above the water, the cannons of their rifles protruding. Luckily for them, the allosaurus and T-rex that had attacked them the day before seemed to have given up, as they were nowhere to be seen.

After deliberation, they opted to let themselves float down the river. Since it was flowing south from the waterfall for a few miles, snaking alternatively between the plain and the groves, they figured it would be easier than walking, and safer than having to run from the dinosaurs. Once the river would turn right towards the west, a couple of miles away from the fence, they would have to swim to shore and continue on foot. 

The five people let the current carry them for a good hour, the security team circling Raven who did her best to stay afloat on her back. They were crossing the third wooden patch since the waterfall, oblivious to the large underwater shadow coming from behind them, when voices caught their attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news: the two groups are finally reunited next chapter!  
> Bad news: stuff will happen, I apologize in advance 😥


	14. Day 4 - morning - herbivore area

After an uneasy night perched on a tree, the rough bark digging at her back, Clarke opened her eyes when the sunlight hit her face through the foliage. Still groggy with sleep, she assessed the situation around her. The children were sound asleep, curled against each other, Aden’s arm protectively circling his sister’s waist over the comforter. With a smile, she woke the woman whose head was resting on her shoulder with a kiss, and quietly pointed at the siblings.

The brunette chuckled after hiding a yawn, and lifted her arms above her head, making her back crack. “Damn, I’m too old for this,” she groaned, feeling the sore muscles of her back and legs. Despite being used to relatively uncomfortable living conditions while she was on digging sites, or camping, it had been a very long time since she had slept in a tree. It probably predated her parents’ deaths, as her uncle Gustus lived away from the forest.

After waking up the children and eating a meager breakfast, the little group carefully climbed down the tree and exited the grove where they had spent the night. They were all worried about running into the T-rex again, but the presence of a brachiosaurus comforted them. Surely, the beautiful giant would flee if a predator was lurking around, wouldn’t it? They spent a few minutes admiring the herbivore that was pulling at the tree leaves bordering the coppice, unbothered by the tiny humans. Not for the first time, Lexa wished she could take a video, but her phone had run out of battery the day before. She would have to rely on her memory — and hopefully on Clarke’s future drawings — to keep this image.

With a long walk still ahead of them, the adults eventually had to coax their two proteges to move, and the survivors headed south, following the river. It calmly ran through the plain, almost enough to appease their fears and soothe them.

When they reached the second wooden patch, the children asked for a potty break, and they all stopped under the safety of the undergrowth. After taking care of their business, the four of them took advantage of the clear water to rinse themselves and wash away the perspiration dribbling down their foreheads and necks. At the spot they had found, the river grew slightly larger, forming a small pond in the middle of the clearing. If it weren’t for the dangers surrounding them, the scenery was truly enchanting, and the children couldn’t help but smile and play around. Lexa warned them that they would have to cover themselves in mud again to hide their scent once it was over, but she nonetheless let her three companions happily jump in the water and splash around. The children even indulged in a short chicken fight against Clarke, while Lexa watched them with a smile.

A dozen minutes later, Clarke was keeping an eye on Madi, who was still playing by the shore, with Lexa and Aden getting out of their wet clothes, when she heard voices coming from behind them. To her surprise, she recognized Indra, Raven, and the three other members of the security team who were currently floating down the river. It was a rather comical sight, with the Latina on her back with a grumpy face, surrounded by three muscular men and the sternest woman she had ever met; all drenched and surly. In other circumstances, she would have laughed, but she could only imagine what they had been through to end up traveling by water rather than land. She was about to wave at them when she spotted the large shadow that was closing in on the group, and instead, she shouted, “Get out of the water! Now!”

The four former soldiers didn’t even turn around, trusting the urgency in the blonde’s voice, and they rushed towards the riverbank, Lincoln dragging Raven out with him. They were regaining their footing when the water suddenly burst open, revealing a long snout full of conical teeth. The baryonyx stood up, its hinder legs half immersed, the rest of its scaly body towering two meters above the water.

Though it seemed to have targeted the group of adults at first, a cry from Madi caught its attention. The beast turned its elongated skull towards the little girl who still had her feet in the water and, apparently deciding that she would make an easier prey, charged.

“Madi, run!” Lexa shouted, jumping in front of the child to protect her, her arms spread-eagled in a vain attempt to scare off the hungry predator running towards her.

The dinosaur was almost upon her when shots erupted, hitting its back and head. Grunting, it spun around to face those who dared to attack it, and with the momentum, its long tail hit Lexa square in the chest. The brunette, knocked unconscious, landed face down in the water, the higher half of her body disappearing under. Ignoring the danger they had put themselves in, the four soldiers kept firing at the predator, aiming for its head, until it fell, a few meters away from them. Not taking any chances, Indra approached the dying carnivore and shot it twice in the eye, ending its life.

“Lexa!” she heard, making her turn her head.

Now that the immediate danger had passed, the vet rushed towards the river and pulled the brunette out of the water with a huff. The soldiers, looking around first to make sure no other predators were waiting for them to lower their guard, ran to her and the terrified children and took position, shielding them from possible threats.

“My God, she’s not breathing. Lexa!”

The paleontologist was pale, her chest desperately immobile, her lips blue and open, wet hair covering half of her face. Clarke, tears rolling down her cheeks, immediately began administering CPR, thanking her mother in her head for the training she had put her through. She compressed the woman’s chest several times before breathing into her mouth, repeating the process over and over. The longer it took, the sadder Raven felt, watching the heartbreaking scene in front of her. Whatever had happened between them, it was clear that her friend and the kids cared for the beautiful woman lying on the ground. The Latina put a hand on each of the kids’ shoulders, trying to turn them away and offer some comfort, but they were rooted there, sniffling.

“Come on, Lex! Don’t give up! Fight! Please,” the blonde was muttering in-between compressions, exhaustion gaining on her. Her arms were already shaking, but she refused to stop, she couldn’t. If she did, it would mean that she would never again see the smile of the woman she was falling for, and that was unacceptable. She had already lost her father; she wouldn’t lose someone else without a fight.

“Clarke...” Raven eventually said, knowing that the blonde wasn’t ready but needed to hear it. “There is nothing more you can do. It’s too late, she’s—”

“Like Hell it is!” the blonde growled back. “She is still alive! She can’t die, she can’t—she promised to protect us, she can’t leave us...”

Seeing her friend lose all composure tore a hole in the dark-haired woman’s heart. The vet was on her knees, sobbing, seemingly on the verge of a panic attack, her hands resting on the brunette’s chest. Raven would have hugged her if not for the two children who were now curled against her, their faces digging into her chest, shoulders shaking. Though he wasn’t as close to Clarke as she was, Lincoln seemed to have sensed the Latina’s dilemma, because he put his weapon down and pulled the blonde into his large chest.

“I’m sorry Clarke,” he said, his bass voice vibrating against her head, “she was an exceptional woman.”

The use of the past tense broke her all over again, and the blonde tore herself away from him with anger and desperation.

“She still is!” she shouted, bringing her fists down on the wet immobile chest. “She still—”

Whatever Clarke was going to say died in her throat when the brunette erupted in a series of coughs, spitting out what looked to her like litters of water.

“Lex! Oh my God! Are you OK?”

“Hurts,” the woman groaned, holding her painful ribs. Between the hit she had taken from the tail, and Clarke’s less than gentle pressure, bruises were already starting to form. She could also feel the tightness of her throat, and hear the rasp in her voice.

“What happened?”

“You almost died!” the blonde replied, torn between relief and anger. “You went down when the baryonyx slapped you with its tail, and you drowned. What were you thinking?”

Before she could reply that she, in fact, hadn’t been thinking at all and merely reacted, the children barreled into her chest, pushing her back against the ground with a yelp. She might have broken a rib after all, or half a dozen.

“Shh,” she whispered, caressing their hair. “I’m OK. Sorry for scaring you.”

“You looked so pale! We thought you were dead,” Aden stuttered, his eyes full of tears. Madi, too upset to speak, was nuzzling her neck, and Lexa could feel moisture there that wasn’t due to her stay in the river.

“I know. I’m so sorry. But I promise, I’m fine now. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You better not,” Clarke grumbled, moving a chestnut lock behind a small ear, “or I’ll kill you myself. Don’t ever scare me like this again!”

“Thank you,” the brunette earnestly replied. “For saving my life, for not giving up.”

“Never,” the blonde pecked her, before a cough interrupted them.

“Ms. Woods, do you think you can walk?” Indra asked, looking rather uncomfortable after cutting short the two women’s romantic display. “We still have to travel a few miles before we can reach the fence, and these woods can only offer so much protection.”

“Yes, I think so,” Lexa said, grimacing when she got back on her feet, but standing on her own, one child on each side. “Let’s just hope we won’t have to sprint, because my ribs are rather tender right now.”

“Hopefully not, because we are running low on ammo,” the dark-skinned woman sighed. “We can continue to follow the river until it turns, and then we will be about two miles away from the wall. I suggest we walk, though; I think we’ve all spent enough time swimming as it is.”

“Tell me about it,” Lexa and Raven replied as one, before looking at each other with a sad chuckle.

Neither of them had expected on Saturday that, less than 48 hours later, they would have run for their life, escaped scary carnivores, drowned, and seen people be eaten. It had been a very long weekend, and Lexa promised herself that if she made it out of the island in one piece, she would treat herself to a vacation. A true vacation, with a spa, massages, a beach, and no dinosaur of any kind. Maybe she could convince Clarke to join her? It wasn’t like the vet would be able to resume her position for a while anyway, and she would need to relax too. Sharing the cost of a hotel room only made sense. And if the hotel offered entertainment for the children, well, that could prove useful, she told herself, not ready to imagine saying goodbye to the kids who had found their way into her heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the hardest chapter to write!! Imagining the baryonyx running around, sprinting towards Lexa and Madi... 😱


	15. Day 4 - afternoon

Reunited at last, the survivors left the relative safety of the coppice and the body of the baryonyx behind, and continued their journey south. While Clarke was catching up with Indra and Raven on the events of the previous 48 hours, Lexa walked quietly, Aden and Madi holding her hands. Her chest was still painful from the whole ordeal, and she couldn’t breathe too deeply without grimacing, but at least she could walk on her own. Of all the weird and unlucky ways to die, taking a stray bullet had been at the top of her list of possibilities for a while — the unfortunate consequence of living in the US — but never had she ever thought she would have a brush with death on an island, drowning after being knocked out by a baryonyx.

As Indra had suggested, they continued following the river, spending as much time as possible in the wooden areas, even when it lengthened their journey. Lexa eventually heard about the security team encounter with the velociraptors, and she could only hope that the terrifying carnivores had chosen to remain north of the island, or they would be in grave danger.

They were about to leave the last coppice between them and the fence, the river had already turned west 20 minutes prior, when they heard the cries of a wounded animal. Approaching slowly, the four soldiers circling the civilians, the group was surprised to discover a young triceratops, with a nasty wound on its left hinder leg. The brunette couldn’t be certain without examining it closer, but it looked to her like the bite of a dilophosaurus. Clarke immediately kneeled by its side, inspecting the leg, while the security team took position in case the double-crested carnivore returned to finish its lunch.

“Lex, can you help me? I need to check if it’s broken, and stop the blood.”

The paleontologist wanted to argue that maybe their own safety should be a priority, and stopping in the woods to treat a wounded dinosaur didn’t sound like the smartest plan, but something in the blue eyes pleading with her made her bite her tongue. Instead, she gently pushed the children towards Raven, and sat next to her lover, asking her what she needed.

“I have to move her leg and try to see if the femur is broken. Then, we’ll have to bandage it tightly so she doesn’t lose more blood and attract the carnivores. Can you pass me a piece of a comforter, or a T-shirt? It should work.”

The vet remained focused on her task for several minutes, moving and turning the injured member in all directions and prodding at it to assess the severity of the bite and the damages it might have caused. Luckily, the bone didn’t appear to be broken, and Clarke cleaned the wound as best as she could before wrapping it in a large T-shirt they had gotten from the store. It wasn’t her best work, but it would have to do. The young herbivore had to have understood that they were on her side, as she whined but didn’t fight back or try to escape.

“Why did you help her?” Aden asked once the triceratops was back on her feet and hobbling away from the group. “With all the carnivores around, and without her parents, she is probably going to get killed.”

“That’s very possible yes,” Clarke replied, ruffling his blond hair gently, “but at least now she has a chance. There is nothing else I can do for her, but maybe she’ll be able to find her parents and survive. This could make all the difference in the world for her, so I had to try.” 

The warm feeling in Lexa’s chest at the interaction had nothing to do with the heat surrounding them, and she bit her lips to stop three words from coming out. Words that it was way too soon to say out loud, while they were trying to survive, stranded on an island full of animals that she had liked a lot more when they were extinct. But despite her best efforts, the awe in her eyes wasn’t missed by Clarke, who responded with a shy smile and pink cheeks.

After gathering their things and answering nature’s call once again, the survivors continued their journey south. They were only a mile or so away from the fence, and they could already see the high wall, across the narrow stretch of plain they had to go through. They walked as fast as they dared, keeping their heads low, until they reached the security gates. Like the ones before, they had been torn open by the carnivores, and lay on the ground, useless. The display only served to confirm their worst fear: no place was safe anymore, the dinosaurs were roaming freely all around the island.

They had barely crossed the separation that Lincoln, paling, signaled them all to keep quiet, and pushed them towards an empty snack shop. Opening the door as silently as he could, the burly man ushered them all inside, and closed it behind him, just in time to avoid being seen by the small predators he had spotted. The velociraptors, screeching and hissing, paced between the fence and the shop, having smelled something new and enticing. Inside the tiny building, the nine survivors sat on top of each other, beads of sweat rolling down their back and blood pulsating in their ears. After their adventure near the river, they had forgotten to cover themselves with mud once more, and that mistake would have cost them their lives if not for Lincoln’s quick reflexes and some sheer luck.

“What do we do?” Raven whispered, looking at the former soldiers.

“We wait for them to move, and then we head for the command center, as planned,” Indra replied, her voice low and a frown deeply set between her eyebrows. “It’s less than 500 meters away, we can make it if we are cautious and hide behind walls as much as possible.”

“You think Marcus is still inside?” Clarke spoke, hoping her mother’s boyfriend had managed to stay safe after spending almost 36 hours on his own.

“That was the plan, yes. He wanted to remain near the security room to turn on the fences and call reinforcement as soon as the electricity was back on. We took much longer than anticipated to return, but I can’t imagine he would leave us behind and escape with the last boat,” the dark-skinned woman said, turning towards the blonde.

Clarke was trapped between one of the walls and Lexa, Madi sitting on her lap, trembling. The vet was stroking the wild chocolate hair in an effort to calm the girl and stop her from crying and attracting the attention of the predators. The rest of the group looked terrified as well, not wanting to find themselves out in the open with raptors — and probably other carnivores — lurking around. And yet, they couldn’t remain in the tiny shop forever. Once Lincoln was certain that he couldn’t hear any noise nearby, he half-opened the door and glanced outside. The coast seemed clear, and the group sneaked out in a single file.

The walk to the command center took them 10 minutes, stopping regularly as they were to make sure they weren’t being followed or wouldn’t cross paths with a set of teeth. Some carnivores could be heard towards the harbor and the west side of the island, and they wondered how they would later make it to the boat. But first, they had to find Marcus. Once they reached the large door, panting, they managed to force it open and entered, oblivious to the broken windows around. Inside, the corridors and rooms were empty, the green emergency lights being the main source of light now that the sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon. When they made it to the security room, Artigas and Nyko walked in first, followed closely by Lexa who immediately let out a cry and stood in front of the entrance to block the view from the rest of the group.

“Don’t let the kids in,” she ordered Clarke, trying to spare them the sight of their uncle’s half-eaten remains while not losing the content of her stomach. She knew that, even if she survived this whole crazy situation and lived to a ripe old age, the bloody image of the man’s body, mangled and torn apart by sharp claws, would forever be imprinted in her memory.

“What’s wrong?” Clarke mouthed.

The brunette sighed before replying, knowing that the kids would have to be informed eventually. “Marcus. The raptors must have found a way in.”

The blonde felt some tears roll down her cheeks at the news. At first, Clarke hadn’t been too fond of the bearded billionaire who had found his way back into Abby’s life out of the blue. But over time, she had been forced to admit that despite his reputation for eccentricity, Marcus was a good man who made her mother smile again. The news of his passing was going to leave her devastated.

“Uncle Marcus is dead?” Aden stuttered; his words broken with sobs. Next to him, little Madi didn’t say a word, but the fat tears escaping from her eyes tore at Lexa’s heart more than any cries would have.

“What’s going to happen to us? He was our only family,” the little boy uttered.

“Hey, it’s gonna be OK,” Clarke said, kneeling to hug both of them. “We— _I_ will find a solution. I promise.” She corrected herself with a blush, realizing that she had no right to decide anything for the brunette.

“ _We_ will,” Lexa added with a smile, having caught on the blonde’s hesitation. Once she was closer to the three people who had stolen her heart in a matter of days, she kneeled too and wrapped her arms around the children, her eyes locked into grateful blue ones. “We will do everything we can to stay together, if that’s what you want. OK?”

For once, Aden was speechless, too busy as he was trying to get his sobs under control while Clarke was kissing his forehead. Madi managed to turn around, and moved her little arms over the brunette’s shoulders, clasping them behind her neck. “Thank you,” she whispered, bringing tears in the green orbs that closed of their own accord.

The raptors had seemingly left the building after feasting on the poor billionaire, but with the windows being broken beyond repair, the building wasn’t safe. The group agreed to barricade themselves for the night in a smaller room, as it was getting too dark to move around. In the morning, they would have to try to reach the boat and escape the island. While Artigas and Lincoln went to look for the vending machines, the rest of the survivors prepared the room, and Clarke did her best to clean and redress Indra’s and Lexa’s wounds with the first aid kit they had found in the security room. Sleep didn’t come easily to them that night, but in a rare show of optimism, they hoped it would be the last one they spent on Isla Nublar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler alert: it won't be...


	16. Day 5

The following morning, the survivors cautiously opened the door of the room they had slept in, aware of the possibility of velociraptors and other small dinosaurs walking around. Luckily for them, the carnivores seemed too busy chasing the herbivores outside, as they didn’t encounter any on their way to the exit. Clarke felt uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Marcus’s body in the security room, but there was no other option. She only hoped the man would understand, and in her head, she promised his spirit to look after his two young relatives. With the electricity still down, they couldn’t use the phones and call for help. If they wanted to escape the island, they would have to do it on their own.

The journey to the jetty took much longer than usual, as the group was regularly forced to hide. In a move right out of a movie, Nyko threw a rock far away to send the allosaurus blocking their path in a different direction, allowing them to slip away while it was distracted. Once they eventually made it, a heavy disappointment greeted them. The boat left for them during the employees' escape had been trampled, and was now half sunk, and far beyond anything Raven could repair with only a few tools and dinosaurs around.

“What are we going to do now? Is there another way out of this island?” Lexa inquired once the group was hidden in the waiting area of the harbor, trying her best to keep the fear out of her voice for the sake of the children.

“There are no other means of transportation,” Indra replied grimly. The woman blamed herself for this oversight. In their hurry to turn the system back on and pick up the group of four, they had neglected to secure their only chance to escape. Though no one could have predicted such a bad turn of events, she should have been more careful. “We will have to barricade ourselves somewhere, close to the jetty, and wait to be rescued.”

“Do you think it is likely to happen?” Raven asked, doubt obvious on her face.

“The rest of the employees escaped more than two days ago. They must have contacted the US and Costa Rican authorities by now. It might still take them a few days to mount a military rescue, so we need to find a place secure enough to wait, and with food.”

“How about the hotel?” Clarke suggested, hoping her mother was well and doing her best to contact their embassy. “It has plenty of mattresses, the showers are still running and the kitchen should be full.”

“There are too many openings,” Lincoln shook his head. “If the raptors managed to enter the command center through a window, we can assume they will do the same at the hotel. We wouldn’t be safe there.”

“I see. The command center presents the same problem then, not to mention the lack of food. The lab is out of the question for similar reasons, and the vending machines there are always out of stocks anyway. We wouldn’t last a day,” the vet sighed.

“How about the shopping area?” Lexa proposed. “From what I saw on Saturday, it is well-stocked, offers bathrooms and shower rooms, the restaurants should have enough food for a while, not to mention clothes, comforters, water bottles. The walls also seemed sturdier than the ones we had before in the carnivore area, so hopefully, they will withstand a shock if one of the larger dinosaurs comes too close.”

“That could work,” Indra replied, thoughtful. “It has everything we need to survive for a while, it is close enough to the harbor that we will hear boats coming, and from what I saw earlier when we passed by, the roller shutters were down, so it should be free of animals.”

Once the group was all in agreement, they ran to the shopping arcade across from the jetty. As Indra had mentioned, the shutters on both sides of the gallery were closed, and Raven had to pick the lock on one of the shops’ emergency exits. The place was bigger than the one located in the carnivore area, with 20 different stores and restaurants in total, 2 bathrooms, and a few shower rooms next to one of the bathrooms. First, the survivors made sure to barricade all entrances in case a carnivore tried to break down a door. They went through all the shops, one by one, and placed heavy shelves and other things in front of the exits. Once they felt relatively safe, they started looking for food and water. As anticipated, the convenience stores and the restaurants’ kitchens and freezers were well-stocked. As long as no carnivore managed to enter, they could remain there for a long time.

After a late lunch, the survivors began taking inventory of all the things at their disposal, while Clarke kept the children busy with pens and pencils. Remembering Madi’s request, she drew the four herbivores they had seen during the tour, before things went awry, when they were all still having the time of their life. Aden tried to copy her, and though it wasn’t nearly as good, he showed some promise. It was Madi’s drawing, however, four figures who, despite their unidentifiable faces, clearly looked like Lexa and the three of them, that brought mist to her eyes. The young brunette was making rapid progress, regardless of the insane situation they were in, and had opened up to the two adults far more than she would have thought possible in a matter of days. She could only hope that the violence surrounding them and the loss of their uncle wouldn’t push the girl back into her shell.

In the evening, after a relatively nice dinner, courtesy of the BBQ restaurant near the clothing shop they had settled in, Lexa went for a shower. Since Raven didn’t mind keeping the children company — and playing some board games with them — Clarke decided to copy her and headed for the shower room, a change of clothes and a towel decorated with herbivores in hand. When she pushed the door open, the sight of Lexa, hair still wet, clad in a “Hug me, I’m trying” T-shirt made her snort.

“Oh my god, you are such a dork!”

“It’s not like we have so many choices,” Lexa replied with a pout, before eyeing the pajamas in the blonde’s hands, covered in dino prints. “Besides, you have no room to talk.”

“Fair enough,” the blonde chuckled, before adding, “wait until you see the kids! I found some onesies, they are adorable!”

“They aren’t with you?”

“Raven is keeping an eye on them, they wanted to finish their game.”

Deciding to take advantage of the temporary privacy, Lexa stepped closer and brought their lips together after locking to the door. The kiss started chastely, their bodies reacquainting with each other, hands caressing arms and cheeks, smiles interrupting the contact from time to time. When Clarke poked her tongue out and licked the brunette’s underlip, entrance was granted immediately, and their pink muscles began dancing together.

“Wanna help me shower?” the blonde asked teasingly, a smirk pulling at her mouth.

Not bothering with a response, Lexa pulled her towards the shower, shading their clothes along the way and letting them fall unceremoniously on the floor. Once both of them were naked, she got some body soap and took her time rubbing Clarke’s entire body, teasing her breasts, her lower back, her thighs. She was about to get some shampoo and wash the blonde’s hair when Clarke pressed her against the wall with a searing kiss. Soft hands took possession of the lean body, never stopping for more than an instant, mapping the higher half of Lexa with devotion and hunger, though mindful of her sore ribs. The paleontologist inhaled sharply when Clarke pulled a nipple in her mouth, her hand playing with the other, thumbing it until it was hard enough to scratch glass.

“Clarke, please. I need you.”

With a grin, the blonde listened to Lexa’s plea, and lowered herself until she was on her knees, faced with the woman’s center she had been dreaming of for days. Shouldering a strong leg, Clarke leaned forward, her fingers parting the folds until she could take the hidden pearl in her mouth.

“Oh gods,” Lexa shuddered, the back of her head hitting the wall with a thump.

Encouraged by her lover’s reaction, the blonde moved her tongue faster, licking the nub with diligence. During their first night together, once the thirst had been quenched during the initial round, they had taken the time to discover each other’s body and what they enjoyed. But now was not the best time or place for soft and slow, with the others nearby and the danger around, so Clarke quickened her pace and inserted a finger in warm heat. Understanding the urgency, Lexa didn’t hesitate to put her hands on the blonde’s head, bringing her even closer to her core. Her breath caught when the vet added a finger and curved them, pressing against her front wall. A flicker of tongue against her clit, a couple more pumps, and she had to bite her knuckles to stifle a cry.

Clarke stood up immediately, trapping the limp body between hers and the wall. She gently took Lexa’s face in her hands, and kissed her so softly the brunette stared at her questioningly when it ended. After a minute, sensing that she wouldn’t get an answer, Lexa reunited their lips, and rolled them against the wall until Clarke was the one pressed against the cold tiles. The brunette pushed a thigh between her lover’s legs, wetness painting her skin with each passing second.

“Inside, please Lex,” Clarke breathed out, her skin flushed.

Lexa immediately entered her with two fingers, giving her a second to adjust, before starting thrusting in and out. When the blonde wrapped a leg against her waist, she moved her fingers even deeper, the heel of her hand applying just enough pressure to make Clarke whimper and roll her hips.

“Faster,” she groaned, her blue eyes unable to focus on the beautiful face inches away from her.

Nodding without a word, Lexa used her pelvis to strengthen her moves, and increased her pace. She could already feel Clarke flutter against her fingers, more liquid gushing out with each pump. Both were too distracted and panting to kiss properly, and her mouth found itself against a taut neck. The blonde seemed to like having her there, as she flipped her hair to give Lexa more access, and tilted her head. Understanding the quiet message, Lexa nipped at the tender skin. The combination of her mouth, her fingers against Clarke’s g-spot, her hand rubbing at the erect nub and her breasts pressed against the larger ones did the trick, and the blonde almost lost her footing when she climaxed hard.

“Shit, I don’t think I can walk back,” Clarke said once her heartbeat had slowed down, her forehead still pressed against Lexa’s shoulder.

“I can carry you if you want, but we need to clean ourselves first,” the paleontologist replied with a smug smile.

After a shorter second shower, the two women put on their dinosaur-decorated clothes, and joined the rest of the group. Raven welcomed them with a knowing smile, and winked when Clarke thanked her for taking care of the children, stating that she expected them to name their first-born “Rae”. Thankfully, Aden and Madi didn’t seem to understand, but the red on their cheeks wasn’t missed by the rest of the adults, confirming their suspicions.


	17. Day 30

For better and for worse, the nine survivors had settled into a routine of a sort. They woke up, prepared breakfast, and ate it together before whoever had been on watch duty slept while the others washed the dishes and cleaned the common area. Lexa, Clarke, and Raven then took turns teaching Madi and Aden maths, science, and English. Lincoln did his best to organize some physical activities so they didn’t go stir-crazy, all while making sure to keep quiet enough that they didn’t attract the attention of the predators still roaming around. They ate lunch at 12 PM, often prepared by Artigas or Indra, as they were the best cooks. Thanks to the multiple restaurants around them, and the small generator that had kept some of the freezers working, they had no shortage of meat and frozen vegetables. Clarke had to bargain with the children to make them eat their greens, but the discovery of a few pints of ice cream gave her the upper hand. In the afternoon, the lessons resumed, usually arts, history, or some project. And then they ate dinner, talked, played board games, and slept. And repeat.

They hadn’t had any incident since the day they had settled into the shopping arcade, but the growls that regularly made the shudder were enough to remind them that they were surviving on borrowed time. Too worried that a carnivore might find its way in if they opened a door to check outside, they could only peek through the bathroom narrow windows. From what they could see, few herbivores had dared to enter the area, which was mostly occupied by some velociraptors and other larger carnivores. Lexa hypothesized that the predators had spread all over the island in an attempt not to compete with each other, and they now had their own territories.

A month after Lexa had set foot on Isla Nublar, and 25 days since they had locked themselves up in the shopping area, there hadn’t been much change. On that particular afternoon, Clarke was sitting cross-legged on the floor of a store that contained a small selection of books and magazines, Madi curled against her chest. The little girl was practicing her reading skills, diligently following the lines with her index. The blonde interrupted from time to time to correct her pronunciation or explain a new word, but overall, she was extremely impressed by Madi’s intelligence and progress. Maybe it was because they were all together 24/7 and she had come to trust the adults around her, or maybe after being almost eaten by a T-rex, nothing could really scare you, but the once almost mute brunette was unrecognizable. Though still reserved, she was now speaking in full sentences and to all the adults, not only to Clarke and Lexa. They remained her favorite, and she refused to go to sleep without snuggling against one of them, but she didn’t shy away from Raven and the former soldiers anymore.

On another aisle, Lexa was helping Aden with some dinosaur maths activities. They were rather simple for him, but it was all she had found in the shop, and as she wasn’t particularly familiar with the mathematics curriculum in third grade, it would have to do. He didn’t seem to mind anyway, too busy as he was chatting with Lexa and soaking like a sponge every little piece of information she gave him. His curiosity and memory were surprising for his age, and the brunette was delighted to have such an eager student. Of course, they would have to wait a few more years before she could explain some of the latest findings in her field to him, or bring him to a digging site, but she was enjoying interacting with the eight-year-old boy far more than she would have ever thought possible a month before.

“Why is it taking so long?” Raven asked Indra while they were both preparing dinner in one of the restaurants. “Shouldn’t they have to come to get us by now?”

“I don’t know,” Indra admitted, trying not to let her fear and disappointment show. There could be many reasons why the US government hadn’t sent a team to pick them up, and none of them were good. “Maybe it is taking longer than expected for Dr. Griffin and the others to convince an official of what is happening here. They didn’t have time to pack any research or samples; you have to admit that the government might believe an island full of escaped dinosaurs is a prank.”

What the dark-skinned woman didn’t dare to voice was that they had been supposed to turn the electricity back on and call the authorities. Since they hadn’t done that, it was safe to say that, even if the government believed Abby, they probably thought they were all dead, and no one wanted to send soldiers on a suicide mission. It was only a terrible combination of factors that had led to their current situation, and no one blamed Raven for it, but they all knew that the Latina slept with difficulties and felt guilty for recommending a reboot of the system to Marcus. Speaking of their inability to contact the mainland wouldn’t solve the problem, and it would hurt the dark-haired woman.

Instead of falling into despair, the former soldier relied on the discipline that, after 20 years in the Army, was very much second nature, and encouraged her companions to do the same. She was the one who had insisted they had clear schedules and stuck to them, knowing how easy it was to let yourself think too much without a sense of routine and purpose. Since Clarke and Lexa were happy to act as cover teachers and kept the children busy throughout the day, with the help of Raven every other morning, the others took charge of the cooking, cleaning, and security. She had worked with the three men for a couple of years and knew them well enough to trust them with her life. Although, she was growing concerned about Nyko. The tall bearded man hadn’t been the same since the loss of his brother, understandably, and the stalemate they were in did nothing to ease his mind. As they were trapped on the island with the carnivores, one of which had killed Ryder, he didn’t get the chance to process his death and begin to mourn. Indra worried that, if they stayed for too long, he might lose it and do something reckless. And in such a situation, any reckless action could get them all killed.

After dinner, Artigas took position near the entrance while Lincoln and Nyko cleaned the dishes, leaving the rest of the group to their own devices. Lexa was about to suggest they played a new board game when she noticed tears in Madi’s blue eyes, and a pout on her face.

“What’s wrong, Munchkin? Why are you crying?”

“The drawing is ruined,” she sniffled, pointing at a piece of paper covered in water. Despite the fading lines, Lexa guessed that it was the drawing of the four herbivores that Clarke had done for the little girl on their first day in the shopping arcade. Madi had apparently spilled some of her water during dinner without any of them noticing. The paleontologist was struggling to find a way to comfort her, when Clarke sat next to them and pulled the young brunette on her lap.

“Shh, it’s OK Mads. Don’t cry. I’ll make you a new one tomorrow, one that we will keep on the wall so it doesn’t get damaged,” the blonde whispered in her ear, stroking the wavy mass of chocolate hair. “And, if you want, we can have it framed once we get out of here, so you can keep it forever. Would you like that?”

The six-year-old nodded into Clarke’s neck, before wiping her tears with her sleeve. Seeing that she had succeeded in calming the child down, the blonde kissed her forehead gently, a smile on her face so sweet and tender that Lexa couldn’t stop the words that came out of her mouth.

“I love you.”

In truth, she had wanted to say them for a while, but she had always stopped herself, worried that it was too much, too soon, that maybe Clarke didn’t reciprocate her feelings, or not to that intensity. She couldn’t imagine going back to the US without keeping in touch with the vet, but how could she be certain that Clarke would want that too? What if she preferred to cut ties with the people who would remind her of the trauma they had shared?

And yet, that evening, watching the blonde being so loving, so gentle with a little girl who wasn’t her own, whom she hadn’t technically known that long, saying those words had been as natural as breathing. She would have had a better chance of stopping the tide, or a T-rex with her bare hands, than to prevent them from escaping her mouth. And, if she was being honest, she didn’t really regret it.

She couldn’t exactly say when she had fallen for Clarke. There had been a clear infatuation right from the start, and their first night of passion had been incredible. But it was more than that. It was the moment Clarke had volunteered to accompany her on the tour because she could see that Lexa wasn’t comfortable with children. Or when, their night in the carnivore area, in spite of everything, she had kept it together for the kids and Lexa. During their night on the tree, cuddling to keep warm, or when she had saved Lexa’s life. And all the small moments between those larger ones, the domesticity that simply _was_ , the seamless way the blonde had found her way through the walls that used to surround her heart, and how the brunette couldn’t imagine a life without her in it. And maybe that was what falling for someone meant. A collection of moments frozen in time, some important and some not, and the sum of them equaled one undeniable, absolute truth. Lexa was in love with Clarke.

It took her a few seconds to realize that neither Madi nor Clarke had said anything. The girl was looking at them with a smile on her face, despite the wetness left on her cheeks by the tears. And the blonde, she didn’t seem surprised, or annoyed for that matter, but she didn’t reply immediately either. Her head was cocked, and she stared at Lexa with a smirk on her face, as if to say, “Really, now? And in front of the kid?”

As the seconds stretched, Lexa felt her ears redden, and her anxiety crept up on her. Maybe her feelings were unrequited after all, and she had made a fool of herself. Maybe Clarke was looking for a way to let her down gently without embarrassing her in front of Madi. Maybe...

Unable to take it any longer, the brunette tilted her body forward as to stand, when the blonde grabbed her forearm, stopping her. The hand left her arm, caressing the skin all the way to her shoulder, before cupping her cheek. When cerulean eyes aligned with emerald ones, Lexa caught her breath. The warmth and tenderness in Clarke’s eyes told her everything she needed to know. And yet, just in case it wasn’t enough, the blonde still opened her mouth to tell her, without any doubt or quiver.

“I love you too, Lex.”

And then, for a moment at least, all was right again. There was no island, no dinosaur, no death lurking in the shadows, no uncertain future. They were simply two women, in their early thirties, happy and in love.


	18. Day 42

Another two weeks passed, and the survivors were starting to lose hope. They had thought the US or Costa Rican government would have sent people to rescue them by now, but there had been no human activity outside. All they could hear was the dinosaurs walking around, and the occasional cry or growl that was getting on their nerves. What had, at first, felt like a strange and prehistorical survival game was turning into a very boring adventure. The group went through their routine, trapped in their mercantile prison, without any surprise or excitement. Even the children, who had originally enjoyed not having to go to school and playing board games every evening were growing tired of the Jurassic Park’s proprietary toys and clothing. Clarke and Lexa were running out of stories to read to them at night, and were forced to make up their own during their downtime. Raven was keeping busy by building a radio from the scraps of metal and the components she found in the various shops, in hopes of contacting the mainland, and the other adults pestered her every day about her progress.

Although there was still plenty of frozen food available, such as minced meat, pork ribs, various cuts of chicken, vegetables, fries, and even fish, the survivors had either eaten or thrown away because it was expired all the fresh food they had initially found, and they were starting to feel the difference. Although none of them ever went to bed hungry, the lack of fruits, fresh vegetables, or anything that hadn’t spent weeks in a freezer was making them grumpy. With the added stress created by the constant reminder that they were stuck there and surrounded by some of the most dangerous predators to ever roam the Earth, arguments were becoming more frequent. They had enough space to isolate themselves and cool down, but as the situation wasn’t evolving and they couldn’t even go for a short walk, tensions were running higher than before.

Nyko seemed to be the most affected by their predicament. The large man showered only every two days or so, his long unkempt beard now reached the middle of his chest, and his hair appeared unruly and oily. Though they had plenty of clothes available to them, he adamantly refused to wear anything with dinosaurs on it, which led him to wear his security uniform most of the time, and it was beginning to show. His T-shirt was stained, holes competing with rings of sweat under the armpits, and his pants had seen much better days. Mindful of his pain and grieving process, the group had, at first, tried to give him space and cut him some slack, but it seemed to only encourage him to isolate himself and forego most social decorum. He wasn’t actively looking for fights, thanks to his gentle nature, but if Indra or someone else attempted to make him join the rest of the mall’s occupants or pointed out his lack of hygiene, he would huff or groan and leave the room. The only person the former soldier wasn’t curt with was Artigas, whom he saw as someone between a mentee and a younger brother. Alas, even the jovial man couldn’t get his older friend out of his shell.

On the eve of the 42nd day since Lexa’s arrival on the island, a noise caught their attention. Different from the growls and cries they had somewhat grown accustomed to, it was the sputtering, unmistakable sound of a small plane engine, probably a private one. It couldn’t be the troops sent to rescue them, but that didn’t disqualify the flying vessel from being their ticket out of the island. If they could manage to let the pilot know that people were here, trapped and still alive, then surely their chances of being rescued would increase tenfold. Naturally, a problem arose right away: to signal the pilot, they would have to leave the relative safety of the shopping arcade and risk being chased by the carnivores.

Before the group could decide what to do, Nyko had run to the closest emergency exit — the one of the BBQ restaurant — pushed the large table they had placed there as extra security, and unlocked the door.

“Nyko, what are you doing? It’s too dangerous!” Artigas exclaimed as he tried to grasp round the man’s waist and pull him back.

“This could be our only chance. We have to try! I can’t stay here!” the bearded man replied, elbowing his friend in the nose hard enough to make Artigas release him before pulling the door open and running out, a flashlight in hand.

Artigas was about to run after him when Lincoln stopped him, a strong hand on his arm and a shake of his head, before the muscular former soldier exited too and closed the door behind him, preventing the others from chasing after them. Before Artigas could get any idea, Indra appeared next to him and locked the metallic bolt.

“What are you doing?” the young man shouted. “They are out there, without a gun. We have to help them!”

“We can’t run around in the dark, just the four of us, without even knowing how many animals are outside waiting for us,” the woman replied sternly, though the emotion tightening her throat made her voice sound raspier than usual. “They made their choice, but I can’t risk your life, all our lives, and the security of this compound on a suicide run. If they make it back, we’ll open the door cautiously. But for now, it will remain close. That’s an order!”

Clarke, who had witnessed the scene from afar, wanted to intervene and encourage them to help Nyko and Lincoln. They couldn’t abandon the grieving man to his fate when he was trying to get them all out of Isla Nublar, no matter how selfish his motivation was, and she understood why Lincoln had followed him. From what she had learned of their time in the army, the shaved-headed man used to work as some sort of a scout. If one of them had a chance of surviving outside and hiding from the carnivores, it was him. However, thinking of the children nearby and what might happen if they opened the door again, she kept quiet. All they could do was hope that the two men would manage to signal the plane and make it back safely.

The next 20 minutes were the longest they had experienced. All the remaining adults were gathered near the restaurant’s exit, listening for any indication that their friends were still alive, except for Lexa who had volunteered to keep the children busy. They had heard the commotion, and the brunette had had no other choice but to explain to them that Nyko and Lincoln were out, doing their best to let the pilot, and the rest of the world, know that they were still here, hidden in the shopping arcade. Various noises echoed all around the mall, making it impossible for the former soldiers to know what was happening. They prayed that, as long as they couldn’t hear human cries, no news was good news.

They had started to lose hope when the sound of knuckles gently knocking on the door made them all jump. Trusting that the men wouldn’t willingly put them all in danger, the survivors opened the metallic separation that had kept them all alive so far without any hesitation. A large shadow entered at once, mud hastily thrown on his face and clothes to hide his smell, and he pulled the door closed behind him.

“Where is Nyko?” Artigas asked, though the absence of the bearded man and the grim look on Lincoln’s face should have been indication enough that he wouldn’t like the answer.

“He’s gone,” the shaved-headed man replied, his dark brown eyes full of tears. He was the only remaining survivor of the terrible trio now, and the weight of his recent losses threatened to crush his spirit. “He managed to make it to the harbor and turn on his flashlight, but a dinosaur caught him before I could catch up or warn him of the danger. A megalosaurus I think, not that it matters much anyway. Bit right through his torso like butter, he didn’t even have time to cry...”

His voice broke at the last word, and the man sat against the table, his body shaking with sobs. There was something terrible at seeing someone so large and strong break in such a fashion, and not a single witness didn’t feel their own eyes mist and their throat tighten.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Lincoln,” Indra eventually said, her hand placed on the muscled arm and squeezing it slightly. “I know he was like a brother to you.”

“Do you think the pilot saw him?” she asked once Lincoln had regained some of his composure. 

“I’m not sure. It is very dark outside, so the light would have been visible from afar, but based on the noise, the plane was flying away from the island, not towards it.”

The statement felt like an ice-cold shower for the group. Despite the danger Nyko had put them all in by opening the door without knowing what could be waiting for them on the other side, they had hoped that his attempt would save them all. But now, for all they knew it hadn’t made the smallest difference, and he had paid his futile try with his life.

“Raven, how’s the radio coming along?” Clarke asked, hoping for better news. “Any chance we can contact the pilot? They must have a radio on their plane, right?”

“It works fine, but it won’t be any help,” the Latina sighed in reply, before explaining further when she saw the incomprehension and the disappointment on her companions’ faces. “I finished it days ago. It can emit and receive, but without an antenna to boost the signal, it’s basically a glorified walkie-talkie. It won’t be enough to reach the plane that’s already miles away by now, and it definitely won’t be able to reach the mainland.”

“But if you knew this from the start, why spend so much time working on it?” Artigas wondered, anger edging in his voice. None of them wanted to admit it out loud, but after almost six weeks on the island with no news from the outside, the radio had sounded like their last chance.

“Why do you keep doing crunches and push-ups like you are preparing for an Ironman triathlon? Why are Clarke and Lexa teaching the kids as if they have to keep up with their classmates?” she answered bitterly. “I needed something to keep my mind occupied, or I’d go crazy. Now I’m working on a TV, though we won’t receive any channels, for the same reason. I’m sorry you’re disappointed, but I never promised you anything, you just assumed it would work.”

“It’s OK Raven, we get it,” Clarke intervened before the situation took an ugly turn. “We all need projects to keep ourselves busy. Speaking of which, I should go help Lexa with the kids. And I have to tell them about Nyko...”

As expected, the news of the bearded former soldier’s passing was hard on the children and Lexa, though she hid it better. Nyko had been mostly a shadow of himself during the previous weeks, but he had always shown them kindness and patience, and they cried heavy tears when they heard that he had been killed while trying to catch the attention of a plane.

“Are we all going to die here?” Aden asked once he had calmed down, and the question, coming from an eight-year-old who shouldn’t have to worry about his own mortality, broke Lexa’s and Clarke’s hearts. They didn’t want to blatantly lie to them, as their chances of surviving decreased with each passing day, but what could they tell the two children in their care? How do you prepare them for the unthinkable when you can’t even accept it yourself?

“No,” Lexa told him, her voice as strong and assured as she could muster. “We are safe here, and we have enough food to last a while. Someone will come, we have to believe it. And if they don’t, then we’ll have to build a raft or something. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, OK?”

The kids didn’t seem convinced, but they didn’t question her anymore. Instead, they curled themselves against the two women’s bodies. Sleep didn’t come easily that night, and Lexa spent a long time stroking Aden’s thin hair while Clarke, lying next to her, was doing the same with Madi. She knew that she shouldn’t have made a promise she might not be able to keep, but she had meant it nonetheless. Until her last breath, she would do everything in her power to protect the three people she had come to see as family. 


	19. Day 51 - midday

The morning of Lexa’s 51st day on the island started like any other. The brunette woke up at 8 AM, Aden flushed against her front, her arm wrapped around his slim waist and sandy hair in her mouth. She could feel Clarke’s body against her back, as the two women had once again turned during the night to hug the children. As she had suspected, when she lifted her head and looked over her shoulder, she noticed her lover still asleep, on her back, with Madi’s head resting on her chest while Clarke held her tight. Both kids were prone to nightmares, quite understandably after all the hardships they had gone through over the previous six months or so, and they slept much better in the proximity of Clarke and Lexa. Not that they could judge them, since the two women also rested much more peacefully in each other’s arms or spooning Aden and Madi.

Once everyone was awake, they took a quick shower and ate breakfast, dino-shaped cereals with milk, plus a glass of orange juice, as they couldn’t warm up the porridge easily without electricity. After brushing their teeth, the classes resumed. Lexa helped Madi with her reading and writing while Clarke, Raven, and Aden build some kind of a science project, without any sound effect, to the Latina’s great displeasure. They were about to start preparing lunch when some noise outside caught their attention.

Growing with each passing second, the rhythmic sputtering combined with the sound of the water crashing against the shore harder than usual could only mean one thing: a boat, or rather a ship, was accosting on Isla Nublar. And if they still had any doubt as to who could be insane enough to come anywhere near this forsaken place, the loud echo of gunshots dissipated them all. The Army, or at least some kind of military personnel had finally come to their rescue!

In less than 15 seconds, the 8 survivors were by the nearest door, with only a couple of things with them. And if it wasn’t for the crazy situation they were in, the disparate collection of items — a clear indication of their respective priorities — would have made them laugh. Indra, Lincoln, and Artigas, the good soldiers, had their rifles and guns at hand. If they could have seen under his shirt, the group would also have realized that Lincoln had put on Ryder’s and Nyko’s half-tags that used to remain by his makeshift bed. Raven placed her radio at her waist, the one that, despite its uselessness, had kept her sane during their time in the shopping arcade. Clarke carried her notepad that contained dozens of sketches of Lexa, the children, her comrades, and the various dinosaurs they had seen. Lexa had grabbed the T-Rex shirt that the blonde had made fun of, as it brought back good memories and was now her favorite sleepwear. She also, and her wife would fondly tease her about it for years to come, had pocketed the book she hadn't finished reading yet, a fascinating biography on Mary Anning that wasn’t available in any other library that she knew of. Aden added to his small backpack the dinosaur-themed travel chess set on which Clarke had begun to teach him how to play and Madi held in one hand Clarke’s new drawing pulled off the wall and the stuffed gallimimus Lexa had found for her.

In their haste, the group had nearly thrown the door open before remembering the predicament they were in. The jetty was only 300 yards or so away from them, but with the predators around, it might as well have been on the other side of the Grand Canyon. And yet, they had to go out and show themselves before the soldiers assumed that they were all dead and left.

They inched the door open and Lincoln cast a glance at the outside of the shop and, to their relief, signaled that it was empty. The carnivores had probably been attracted by the noise of the ship's engine and the shots. It might be difficult for them to approach it, but at least, they could exit their prison in relative safety. The security team, or what was left of it, positioned themselves around the five other people and they walked out slowly, their heads low and eyes on alert. Lincoln and Artigas stood in front, ready to shoot anything that would come too close to the group, while Indra brought up the rear, looking over her shoulders more often than not to make sure no animal would jump on them from behind.

The first part of the journey went well, and the jetty was in sight, when things took a turn for the worse. The large carnivores were distracted by the ship and its passengers, but some of the velociraptors had noticed the escapees, and after stalking them for a minute or two, attacked from the left side. Lincoln and Indra immediately shot them, as Artigas stood on the right side and couldn’t aim without risking injuring Clarke, when a dilophosaurus lurked in from the right and pulled Madi away by her backpack, yanking her from Lexa’s hand. The paleontologist took off after the animal, and though she was weaponless and quickly overtaken by Artigas who was running at full speed after the double-crested carnivore, she carried on.

About 50 meters away from the group, the predator let go of the backpack, presumably to sink its serrated teeth into the terrified little girl. Before it could, however, Artigas shot it in the head twice, killing it. Lexa, who had followed him closely, pulled the young brunette back on her feet and towards the group that had, in the meantime, managed to scare the raptors away. They were halfway there when, out of the corner of the shopping arcade that had been both their prison and their salvation, an allosaurus appeared and charged at them.

“Run!” Artigas shouted, aiming his rifle at the theropod, as the three of them were the closest to it.

Lexa and Madi made it back to the rest of the group among the shots and growls of the incoming predator. Lincoln and Indra stepped forward to come to the young man’s help, but before they could get close enough, another allosaurus poked out from behind the corner. They all knew that their chances were slim against those two mega predators, as they were already dangerously low on bullets.

“Run, dammit!” Artigas repeated, the terror on his face replaced with determination as he stood his ground and continued to shoot at the approaching carnivores.

Indra looked like she wanted to run forward and take his place, but the muscular man pulled her back by the shoulder. She might not have made it in time, and Artigas’s sacrifice would have been vain. Instead, the two former soldiers, with tears in their eyes, ushered the five civilians towards the harbor. They had barely stepped onto the platform signaling its entrance that they heard the shots cease, replaced by cries that made them shudder.

Sadly, they didn’t have time to mourn their brave friend, as they weren’t out of harm’s way yet. Now that they were closer to the water, they could see the military ship that had reached the pontoon. Lexa recognized it as a Cyclone class patrol ship, one of the smallest ones in the Navy. A few soldiers were on deck, shooting the couple of T-Rex and megalosaurus that came at it, thankfully from the opposite side of where the survivors stood. The group of now seven people took off running towards the ship, waving at the soldiers as quietly as they could in order not to attract the predators. They were only a dozen meters away or so from it when the water near them burst open.

The baryonyx that had been swimming under and aiming for the ship had to have seen them, as it turned its elongated skull in their direction, jaws threateningly open. Clarke and Lexa jumped in front of the children, and Indra lifted her rifle towards its mouth. Before she could properly aim, however, a loud bang came from the ship, and the animal fell back into the water, its head pierced through and through by the large caliber. With their mouths opened in surprise, the group turned around and spotted a tall, lean woman with long dirty-blond hair holding a large rifle that rested on the rail of the ship. Raven’s whistle was interrupted by a loud, “Anya!” coming from Lexa. It was unmistakably her sister in all her former military glory, clad in combat clothes and proudly standing on the deck of the ship she had to have commandeered somehow.

“Get on board!” Anya shouted at them before pointing her rifle towards the other predators around.

She didn’t have to repeat herself as, now that their surprise had passed, the seven survivors were anxious to leave the island and the terrible memories it held. One after the other, they jumped onto the metallic deck with a discreet clang, the adults helping the children. Once they were all on board, Anya signaled the captain, and the ship moved backward and away from Isla Nublar, leaving a pile of dead predators and more hungry-looking ones on the shore.

Barely giving her older sister time to put her weapon down, Lexa threw herself at her, her arms wrapped around the slim neck, and hugged her so tightly she felt Anya groan before she returned her embrace. The two of them had never been prone to hugs and displays of affection, but for once, neither of them minded, and the paleontologist wasn’t surprised when her sister rubbed her back and tightened her arms against her waist. They stayed quiet for a few seconds, enjoying the reunion they almost hadn’t believed in anymore, before Lexa finally took a step back, her eyes misted over.

“What happened?” the brunette asked. “How did you find us? And where did you get this ship?”

“Well, someone contacted me about a week ago and was very insistent on telling me a crazy story about an island full of dinosaurs. Once she had me convinced that it was real and that you were there too, I called in a few favors with some old friends, and here we are.”

Before Lexa could ask her what she meant, another figure appeared on the deck. The woman was older, some silver visible in her dark brown hair, and more wrinkles were now pulling at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Yet, she stood tall and the smile of relief on her face could have lit a whole block.

“Mom!” Clarke exclaimed, before running to her mother and colliding with her body so hard she nearly knocked them both over.

Cyclone class patrol ship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mary Anning was an influential fossil hunter in the early 19th century who received a lifetime annuity from the British Association for the Advancement of Science. According to this article: https://www.thoughtco.com/most-influential-paleontologists-1092057  
> Anning was also, by the way, the inspiration for the old children's rhyme "she sells sea shells by the sea shore."


	20. Day 51 - afternoon

The two Griffin women took a step back after their long hug and appraised each other. Clarke could have sworn her mother had had fewer wrinkles when she had shown Lexa around the lab, before their whole world was turned upside down. Though she hadn’t been the one trapped in a shopping arcade surrounded by dinosaurs for weeks, Abby looked like she had aged 10 years in a matter of weeks. The blonde realized at that instant the cruelty of her mother’s situation, the weight of the uncertainty. Clarke had been through hell, but at least she had known during that time that the geneticist was safe, and had hoped to be rescued. Abby, on the other hand, had had no indication for 50 days that her only daughter and the man she loved were alive. With that in mind, she pulled her mother into her arms one more time and tightened her embrace. When they separated again, she could see the deep brown eyes wander over her shoulder to each member of the group until they began to fill with tears.

“Marcus?”

“I’m sorry Mom,” the blonde replied as gently as she could, shaking her head. “Some raptors managed to enter the command center.”

Clarke barely had time to ready herself that her mother crumbled into her arms, her body wracked by sobs. The rest of the survivors, Anya and the couple of soldiers who had found themselves nearby left the deck to allow them some privacy, and went to sit in the lounge area. The ride back to Puntarenas would take approximately two hours, giving Lexa plenty of time to catch up with her sister on what had happened recently. That was, if she could get her sister’s attention, as it was currently being monopolized by a nearly drooling Raven.

“Hi, I’m Raven. Please tell me a gorgeous woman like you is single,” the Latina said while wiggling her eyebrows at Anya. The uniform and ability to shoot a dinosaur right in the head seemed to be doing it for her, although she had never reacted that way to Lincoln or Indra.

“You couldn’t handle me, Little Bird,” the tall blonde replied with an eye roll that lacked conviction.

“Ha, please! I survived 50 days stuck on an island with dinosaurs, not to mention Lexa and Clarke giving each other heart eyes every 5 minutes. There is nothing I can’t handle!”

Anya didn’t comment, but her one-sided smile wasn’t missed by Lexa. On a good day, her sister was half-sass, half-attitude, and her resting bitch face had sent more than one grown man reeling. But if someone could match Anya Woods’s sarcastic disposition, it was certainly Raven. Besides, the brunette hoped the maintenance specialist would be enough to distract her sister from inquiring about her forementioned love life. A few minutes later, Clarke and her mother joined them; both sporting impressively red and puffy eyes, and they began catching up.

The couple went first and recounted how the jeep had stopped close to the T-rex enclosure, forcing them to spend the night in the shops nearby, before they were forced to leave the carnivore area and journey south. Indra took over for a moment and explained why they hadn’t been able to turn the electricity back on or to find the four other survivors at first. Even Anya flinched at the mention of the ambush and coordinated attacks led by the velociraptors. The dark-skinned woman then went on and summarized their trip back south, the loss of Ryder, and the night spent behind the waterfall before they had reunited with Clarke and the others.

The next part of the story was the hardest to hear for Clarke and the children, as they had truly feared they would lose Lexa. Upon hearing how her daughter had managed to save the professor’s life by administering CPR, Abby turned her head to look at the blonde with pride. To Lexa’s surprise, she also placed a hand on her shoulder and voiced how happy she was that the brunette had survived her encounter with the baryonyx. Had Clarke talked to her about their relationship already? Lexa would have to ask her once they would be able to afford a moment of privacy. In order not to upset the geneticist or the children, Clarke glanced over the part where they found Marcus’s body when she continued her recounting, and went almost directly to their time in the shopping arcade. Anya and Abby were clearly impressed that the group had managed to survive for so long hidden in the shops, and praised them for their ingenuity and resilience. The mention of Artigas’s final sacrifices, moments before they were all to be rescued, brought tears into the whole assembly’s eyes. None of them would ever forget the joyful, brave young man and how he had saved Madi’s life and given them all time to escape.

Once they were done, it was time for Abby to explain how she and the other employees had taken one of the boats and made it to Punta Islita without too much trouble, despite the storm raging around them.

“Not to be ungrateful or anything,” Raven interrupted, “but why did it take so long for you to send a rescue team? We thought you would come much sooner.”

“I can imagine,” Abby sighed, her head hung low. “I swear I did everything I could, but no one believed us. When we landed in Costa Rica, the authorities took us away for a while and interrogated us. Though we all told the same story, they thought it was some sort of a prank and refused to believe that people were trapped on a private island with dinosaurs on it. I’m sure you can understand how crazy it sounds when you haven’t witnessed it with your own eyes. And since we all left in a hurry and everything is on a well-protected intranet system that was down, I had no document or proof of any sort. When they finally let us go, I immediately contacted the embassy, but again, they didn’t believe me. I called all the bureaus I could think of, but most hang up on me once I started telling them my story. Even journalists were of no help. And when I eventually managed to convince a few officials, so many days had passed already that they didn’t think anyone would still be alive, and wouldn’t sanction a mission so dangerous on mere hope.”

“And how does Wonder Woman here fit into this story?” Raven asked, earning a smirk from Anya and a groan from the rest of the survivors.

“One of the people Dr. Griffin contacted is a former officer of mine. She mentioned the name Lexa Woods, and by a stroke of luck, he remembered that we are related. So, he called me and told me about this very persistent lady who said that my little sister was trapped on an island with some prehistoric monsters. Obviously, I thought at first that it was a prank, but since Lexyloo here wasn’t answering her phone or her emails, and her students confirmed that they hadn’t seen her in weeks when I interrogated them, I decided to meet her. Since she didn’t seem to be cuckoo, and I hadn’t still heard back from Lex, I contacted some old friends, and here we are.”

The rest of the trip was spent in relative silence, the survivors enjoying what little fresh food there was on board, and thanking Dr. Griffin and the soldiers for not abandoning them. Though she didn’t say anything, Abby noticed how Aden and Madi remained close to her daughter and Lexa at all times, the little girl sitting on the brunette’s lap like she had known her for years. She wondered if the women had talked about their plans once they would be back in the US, and hoped the children wouldn’t be left heartbroken.

With their passports and other IDs long forgotten on the island, the group was forced to remain in Costa Rica for a few days while the embassy sorted everything out. The main hurdle was Aden’s and Madi’s situation, as they were both minors and orphans. Luckily, Marcus had had the presence of mind to name Abby their legal guardian in case something happened to him, as he hadn’t wanted them to end up in the foster system. After a few long and stressful phone calls, they were all able to breathe more easily.

To their surprise, if their stay in Costa Rica had been relatively quiet, upon arrival in the US, a herd of journalists greeted them at the airport. The tale of their survival on an island infested with dinosaurs had reached some ears high enough in the hierarchy of local and national newspapers that it had been deemed believable. And to Lexa’s utter annoyance, she was recognized by some of the reporters who assailed her with questions.

“Professor Woods, is it true that you were on an island with actual dinosaurs?”

“Professor Woods, what can you tell us about your recent adventures?”

“Miss Woods, are you planning on returning to Isla Nublar to study the dinosaurs further?”

The last question made her stop dead in her tracks, and she turned to face the journalist, a 20-something-year old redhead with horn-rimmed glasses and a serious face.

“No,” she replied with a stern look. “We barely made it out alive and lost good friends there, I have no intention of returning anywhere near Isla Nublar. The animals there are not an attraction, or pets. They are living, breathing predators, who don’t know that they were recreated by us, and they need to be left alone. I will make sure to talk to whoever is in charge of it now and recommend the island and its surroundings to be made into a reserve with a strict policy of non-interference. No further comment.”

Once the group was back into the safety of a nearby hotel, courtesy of Abby, the paleontologist took the older woman aside.

“I’m sorry for speaking my mind without consulting you first, but I meant what I said. Humans must stay clear of the island, and leave the animals there at peace. It is too dangerous to return, and I also fear what some companies might do if they put their hands on a raptor, for example.”

“Don’t worry Lexa, I completely agree with you,” the geneticist replied, putting her at ease. “It is going to be complicated as Marcus and I weren’t married. I’m not sure who will be in charge of Jurassic Park and the island now that he’s dead, but I will support your suggestion and talk to the board too if need be.”

“Thank you,” the green-eyed brunette nodded, a weight off her shoulders.

“That place has taken the man I love from me, and almost cost me my daughter and the children. Trust me, I don’t want anyone near it either.”

After a moment, the older woman spoke again.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are your plans now? Are you going to return to Polis to teach?”

Lexa felt her ears redden at the barely concealed question under those. Either Clarke had told her mother about them, or the doctor was perceptive, but she knew the two of them — four of them really, with the kids — had gotten close.

“To be honest, I don’t know yet. It was difficult to anticipate the future in our recent situation, all I was thinking about was to survive and escape the island. But now that we are out, this is a conversation I need to have with Clarke, and I’m not sure how to start it.”

“I see,” Abby said with a smile. “Well, if you’ll allow me a piece of advice, Clarke is very much like her father. Headstrong and a little reckless at times, but extremely loyal to the people she cares about. From what I understand, that list now includes you. If you don’t want to lose her, then you should tell her. She will want to hear it.”

“Thank you,” Lexa said, lost in thoughts. Could it really be that easy? They had fallen in love so quickly, under insane circumstances. How would their relationship evolve now that they were back in the US and their normal lives? But most importantly, would she be able to carry on living without the beautiful blonde? And Aden and Madi? 


	21. Day 237

Lexa looked at her reflection in the mirror as she finished applying light makeup. Her cheeks seemed fuller and her skin had regained its natural tan, after weeks cooped up in the shopping arcade whose walls had been the only protection against terrifying predators. She pulled at the hem of her button-down to smooth imaginary wrinkles, and dusted her slacks. Once she was satisfied, she made her way down the stairs, smiling when she noticed Clarke waiting for her by the door.

The blonde vet was clad in a formal dark blue dress, conservative despite a hint of cleavage, and sported light makeup too. Her now shoulder-length hair was neatly brushed, and her ever so twinkling blue eyes unashamedly took in Lexa’s appearance as the brunette reached the bottom of the steps. There were a few naughty things that Lexa would have loved to tell her, not to mention the moment she actually considered being late and dragging the blonde upstairs to get her out of the beautiful dress, but the presence of Abby and the children stopped her.

Turning to the side to face them, she couldn’t help the proud smile that found its way on her mouth when she noticed how cute the children looked. Aden, much like her, had opted for a formal shirt and black pants. Wanting him to be comfortable, as the day might be long, Lexa and Clarke had convinced him to wear sneakers instead of leather shoes, but he had insisted on the blue bow tie wrapped loosely around his slender neck. Now seeing how the color matched Clarke’s dress, the paleontologist was glad he had. Madi, proudly standing on the other side of Abby, was absolutely adorable in her floral summer dress, her untamable chocolate mane braided behind her head much like Lexa’s.

“Is everybody ready?” Abby asked, chuckling when the four of them nodded as one, the move so synchronized it seemed to have been practiced over and over.

The five of them exited the suburban house in an orderly fashion and took their usual places in Lexa’s Sedan. Lexa at the wheel, Abby next to her, and Clarke at the back, seating between the siblings. As the brunette turned on the engine, the radio automatically started, still tuned on the last frequency she had listened to.

_This is Luna Rivers, of the Washington Gazette, live from the DC Court where the fate of Mr. Cage and Dante Wallace will be decided today. For those of you who just joined us, the Wallaces are being prosecuted regarding..._

Lexa turned off the radio before the reporter could finish, not wanting to upset the children or the other two adults present on such an important day, though they had all followed the case with great interest. When she hadn’t been busy convincing people to organize a rescue mission to save her daughter and proteges, Abby had informed the authorities of Emerson’s guilt and probable theft. Despite the lack of proof due to the situation, the authorities had eventually agreed to investigate and seize the man’s personal computer. No one had seen the tall IT security officer since that terrible afternoon, and the empty rubber dinghy found drifting by fishermen not far from the Costa Rican shore was the only indication they had of his fate. Thankfully, the emails exchanged between the man and Cage Wallace described the intended crime and promise of payment in enough details that Cage and his father, respectively the VP and CEO of Mount Weather, Inc. were now residing in jail, with no possibility of bail, and waiting for a sentence that would very likely see them remind behind bars for the foreseeable future. It wouldn’t bring Marcus, Nyko, Ryder, Artigas, or the other members of the security team back, but it was a good day for justice. As promised, and with Lexa’s help, the geneticist had also managed to convince the board of directors now in charge of Jurassic Park to turn it into a protected reserve; putting the survivors one step farther on their healing process.

After a quiet 20-minute ride, Lexa parked her car by the old imposing building where one of the most important meetings of their lives was going to take place, and they all got out of the vehicle. Staring at the dark red bricks, the brunette took a moment to breathe in and out, an exercise recommended by the psychologist they all went to see after making it back to the US to calm her nerves. Clarke was by her side before she could realize it, and grabbed her left hand.

“Hey, you’re OK. Everything is going to be fine,” the blonde whispered in her ear, squeezing gently before rubbing the ring sitting on a long finger with her thumb.

The brunette nodded quietly, chastening herself for her nervousness, and the five of them made it to the entrance, the kids between Clarke and Lexa. After the mandatory security check, an officer pointed them in the direction of the room they were meant to go to, and they sat on the wooden benches at the back, waiting to be called. They hadn’t been there for more than five minutes that Indra joined them, followed moments later by Lincoln, Octavia, Gustus, and Anya and Raven, who were now very much a couple, to Lexa’s equal annoyance and pleasure. Another 15 minutes or so passed, before the judge, a middle-aged woman with thick glasses and a kind smile called out, “Case 214716, adoption of Aden Cory Kane and Madison Lola Kane by Mrs. and Mrs. Griffin-Woods.”

*****

After her conversation with Abby following their arrival in Washington, and a not so gentle nudge from her dear sister, Lexa had womaned up and talked to Clarke. The paleontologist had admitted that she couldn’t imagine her life without the blonde, no matter how new their relationship still was, and that she hoped they could find a way to continue seeing each other. Much to her relief and delight, Clarke had confessed feeling the same way, and that, if Lexa wanted to return to Polis to teach, she would follow her. As both Griffins were out of a job now that Marcus was gone and Isla Nublar was a no-go zone, relocating to Polis had been rather easy.

The geneticist found a part-time job at a lab and Clarke, thanks to the impressive sum Marcus had left her in his will, opened her own veterinary clinic not far from the house that Lexa and her bought, neighboring Abby’s own new one. Apart from the money he had left Clarke and her mother, the eccentric billionaire had made sure to set up a trust fund for both Aden and Madi, for now under Abby’s supervision, that they would have access to upon their 25th birthday. And though the children remained, on paper, the geneticist’s responsibility for months, they spent almost all their time with the two women. So much time, in fact, that Lexa didn’t need to ponder over it when Clarke suggested they made it official and adopted them.

To simplify the procedure, they both agreed to get married at the courthouse and have a small celebration in Polis with their closest friends rather than a grand wedding. Apart from Anya, Uncle Gustus, and Abby, their only remaining family members, they invited Indra, Raven, and Lincoln, whom they had shared so much with they were now honorary family members too, as well as Octavia, Clarke’s best friend. Lexa was surprised to discover on that occasion that the dark-haired maintenance specialist was dating her sister, having made the former soldier fall for her charms — or so she said. Anya merely shrugged in response, though her smile wasn’t missed by the green-eyed brunette. All of them had also noticed Octavia’s immediate interest in Lincoln, and the sweet muscular man hadn’t seemed indifferent either. After the events on the island and the loss of his two best friends, the man was more subdued than ever and the short bubbly brunette was the perfect antidote to his moroseness. Less than two weeks after the wedding, the two of them had announced that they were officially dating, and Clarke swore she had never seen her friend so happy and in love.

*****

The procedure was over more quickly than they would have thought possible, the judge not wanting to drag things along and approving the adoption as soon as the different parties had confirmed they were in favor of it. The once so quiet Madi impressed them all by shouting an enthusiastic “Yes” when the judge asked her if she wished to be adopted by Clarke and Lexa, making them all laugh. Aden’s answer was more poised and solemn, but the smile on his face wasn’t missed by anyone. After dancing around the topic for days, he had found the courage to ask the couple if he and Madi could call them “Mom” a week before the hearing. Between happy tears, the adults had replied that they could call them however they wished, and in the end, they decided that, to avoid any confusion, Lexa would be “Mom” and Clarke “Mama”.

Once in possession of the precious documents that officially made them all Griffin-Woods, the four of them, plus Abby and the rest of their chosen family gathered in their new garden to celebrate around a barbecue manned by Lincoln. Juices and beer flowed freely, the survivors and their loved ones having learned the hard way that life was precious, and that one should never miss an occasion to spend time with the people who mattered the most to them.

*****

A few weeks later, Lexa came home at the end of her workday, exhausted by her lectures but overall proud of her students. She removed her shoes, hang her jacket, and plumped down on the sofa with a sigh.

“Long day, Love?” her wife inquired from the kitchen where she was busy preparing dinner, their children upstairs playing and showering.

“Hm,” Lexa grumbled before standing and wrapping herself around the blonde’s back, her mouth placing a tender kiss on the exposed neck. “Long lectures. It went well, and the students were invested, but I had to mention the latest findings regarding the T-Rex’s skull and it triggered me a little.”

Sensing the concern on the vet’s face, she quickly added, “Nothing too serious, I took a few deep breaths and that was it. It just that... I still love my job, but sometimes I think I liked dinosaurs more when some of them hadn't tried to eat me.”

“I can understand that,” Clarke replied softly before turning around to face the brunette. “Honestly, I’m not sure how you do it. I’m so glad to be back to a more regular practice. Not that it’s completely safe,” she joked, pointing at the scratches a very angry Mr. Fluffy had left on her forearm a couple of days before during his temperature check, “but none of the cats and dogs I see every day has ever tried to make me its dinner.”

“Are we getting a dog?” Aden interrupted them, having heard the D-word while walking down the stairs. The children had been obsessed with pets for years, and now that they lived with a vet, they regularly asked if they could get a dog. So far, their mothers had refused, claiming that they needed to all settle into their new life first, but they were losing ground more and more each day. And, to be fair, they weren’t putting much of a fight either.

“Did you finish your homework?” Lexa countered, ruffling his sandy hair.

“Yes, Mom,” he sighed with an eye roll before pulling away and fixing his hair. Though it was impossible, Lexa could have sworn Aden had inherited some of Anya’s genes, and her sister found it hilarious when her nephew copied her “attitude”, claiming she was the coolest adult ever. To think that only eight months before, she had been his hero. _Ingrate_.

With a sigh, Lexa turned to look at her wife, whose perfect left eyebrow was raised in amusement. Motherhood remained new to both of them, but if someone asked, they would reply that it was the best decision they had ever made, and that it was easier than they had anticipated. Of course, all of them still suffered from the occasional nightmare related to their time on the island, and after losing both their parents and uncle in the span of six months, the children hated to be away from them for too long. But they were doing the work, seeing therapists, and supporting each other. Aden had started playing soccer, Lexa helping him practice in the backyard on weekends, and Madi loved her art lessons. Their fridge was now covered with drawings made by the young brunette and her blonde mother, most of them depicting the four of them, sometimes with Abby and the others; their trip to Disneyworld and the ocean at the center of it all. And yes, maybe a dog would be the perfect addition to their family. She could use company during her morning jog anyway, she told herself, as Clarke refused to “get out of bed at the crack of dawn to get all sweaty and tired”, her exact words.

The paleontologist had to have been lost in thoughts longer than she realized, as her wife caressed her arm with a concerned look and asked, “Hey, everything OK in that beautiful head of yours?”

“I love you, I love our family,” Lexa easily replied with a smile, and no words spoken had ever been truer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are guys, the end! 🦖
> 
> Thanks to all of you who supported this story chapter after chapter and wrote so many kind comments 😊  
> If you enjoyed it, please remember to leave a kudo, it will encourage more people to read it!
> 
> Take care, and I'll hopefully see you again in the comments section of my other fics!


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